Lawsuit Indicates Depo-Provera Meningioma Diagnosis Followed Memory Loss, Dizziness Symptoms

Ohio woman did not learn her brain tumor may have been caused by Depo-Provera injections until a study published in 2024 linked the birth control shot to a fivefold increased risk of intracranial meningioma.

According to her lawsuit, Anjennetta Willis developed dizziness, memory loss and headaches that were later traced to a brain tumor, which she claims was caused by years of Depo-Provera injections.

The complaint (PDF) was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on January 16, alleging that the defendants, Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC and Pharmacia LLC, knew for decades that the birth control injections could increase the risk of developing intracranial meningioma, yet failed to warn the medical community or the public in order to maintain profits.

The Depo-Provera birth control shot is a long-acting hormonal contraceptive first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1992. It requires quarterly injections of the synthetic progestin medroxyprogesterone acetate to prevent pregnancy. Willis is just one of tens of millions of women who have received the injections over the last several decades, which some estimates say have been received by 25% of U.S. women aged 18 through 49.

However, studies published in 2024 linked Depo-Provera to meningioma side effects, suggesting women who received the injections faced more than a five-fold increased risk of developing brain tumors when compared to women who did not take the shot. Known as intracranial meningioma, these kinds of tumors can cause potentially life-threatening complications, frequently requiring brain surgery and life-long medical monitoring.

In late 2025, the FDA approved an updated Depo-Provera brain tumor warning, adding new language to the drug’s label to alert users to the risk of intracranial meningioma, calling for patients to be monitored for brain tumors and recommending Depo-Provera be discontinued at the signs of meningioma development or growth.

As a result, Willis’s complaint joins more than 2,100 Depo-Provera lawsuits brought by women throughout the U.S., who say the manufacturers failed to give them or their doctors adequate warning that Depo-Provera side effects were linked to brain tumor risks.

According to her lawsuit, Willis began receiving Depo-Provera injections in 1992 at the age of 24. She continued to receive the injections until 1995.

Willis, of Ohio, began developing symptoms that included memory loss, headaches and dizziness, resulting in a CT scan in 2002 which revealed she had a brain tumor. In October 2002, she underwent a right frontal craniotomy to remove the meningioma.

However, the lawsuit indicates Willis was unaware of the link between Depo-Provera and brain tumor risks until the 2024 study, more than 20 years after the surgery, and years of regular medical monitoring.

“As a result of Defendant’s actions and omissions, Plaintiff was made to suffer serious injuries and damages, specifically, the development of an intracranial meningioma, requiring surgery and additional medical treatment and surveillance for recurrence, and sequelae thereto.”

– Anjennetta Willis v. Pfizer Inc. et al

She claims the defendants acted with “malice, wanton disregard, and a reckless intent,” as well as having no concern for her safety or the safety of other women who relied on claims that the Depo-Provera injections were safe.

Willis presents claims of failure to warn, design defect, negligence, negligent failure to warn, negligent design defect, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of warranty. She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.

Depo-Provera Meningioma Lawsuits

The complaint will be consolidated with thousands of similar claims in the Northern District of Florida under U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, as part of a Depo-Provera meningioma lawsuit MDL, or multidistrict litigation. Judge Rodgers is directing the litigation through coordinated discovery, pretrial proceedings, and the preparation of five “pilot” lawsuits that will serve as bellwether trials.

The pilot lawsuits involve representative cases designed to help plaintiffs and defendants gauge the relative strengths and weaknesses of their claims. Judge Rodgers indicates she wants the first case ready for trial by December 7 or 14, 2026, with the rest of the trials scheduled to begin in January 2027.

These pilot trials will be closely watched to see how juries respond to evidence and testimony that would likely be repeated in thousands of cases if the litigation is not otherwise resolved. However, if no Depo-Provera brain tumor settlement agreement is reached, Judge Rodgers may remand the remaining claims back to their originating District Courts for individual trial dates.

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