Over 1,300 Depo Shot Lawsuits Now Being Pursued by Women With Meningioma Tumors

Each of the claims raise similar allegations that manufacturers of the popular birth control shot failed to adequately warn women or the medical community about the risk of brain tumors from Depo-Provera.

As more and more women step forward to file Depo Provera lawsuits claiming the popular birth control shot caused them to develop meningioma tumors, the U.S. District Judge overseeing the litigation is calling for more coordination between state and federal courts, which have both seen an influx of cases.

Depo-Provera is a long-acting hormonal contraceptive that was first approved for use in the U.S. in 1992, involving an injection administered quarterly that contains the synthetic progestin medroxyprogesterone acetate.

Based on the widespread belief that it is safe and effective, the Depo shot has been given to tens of millions of women over the past three decades, but concerns have emerged over the past few years that suggest women receiving Depo-Provera may face an increased risk of brain tumors, specifically intracranial meningioma.

As a result of the drug makers’ failure to previously disclose this risk, there are now more than 1,300 Depo shot lawsuits being pursued in both state and federal courts nationwide, each raising similar allegations that women have been left with severe neurological damage, often resulting in the need for brain surgery and life-long medical monitoring.

The federal claims have been consolidated into a Depo shot MDL, or multidistrict litigation, which is pending before U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.

Last week, the parties met with Judge Rodgers for a case management conference on September 29, updating the court on the progress of the litigation, and on the preparation of five pilot cases she plans to use as early test trials.

After the conference, Judge Rodgers issued a case management order (PDF) on Friday, indicating that there are now at least 1,220 total actions pending in the MDL. In addition, plaintiffs informed the judge that another 71 Depo shot lawsuits are filed in New York state courts, with another 19 in California, eight in Delaware, and one each in Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

The order indicates Judge Rodgers is encouraging more coordination between the state and federal courts, including between attorneys in leadership positions in both jurisdictions. Justice Sabrina Kraus, who is overseeing the New York state court Depo-Provera litigation, attended the last conference, the judge noted.

“The logistics of a joint CMC are currently being worked out, and an order on this is expected to follow.”

– U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, Northern District of Florida

Judge Rodgers indicates that the location and time of the next case management conference, scheduled for October 24, will depend on whether Justice Kraus, Judge Kathleen Vavala of Delaware, and herself can coordinate a joint conference. She has called for the parties to submit a joint agenda for the conference by October 20.

Depo Shot Bellwether Trials and Preemption

Before the litigation can move forward with the pilot trials, which would allow the parties to gauge how juries are likely to respond to key arguments and testimony that would likely be repeated throughout the litigation, Judge Rodgers must first make a critical ruling on whether the Depo shot lawsuits are preempted by federal law.

In August, Pfizer filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that state law-based failure to warn claims are preempted by federal law, claiming the company attempted to have information on brain tumor risks added to the warning label in 2023, which was rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Plaintiffs responded last month, arguing that Depo-Provera was on the market for decades after science had established that the injections could promote brain tumor growth, and Pfizer only sought to modify the labels after an investigation by foreign regulators.

On September 29, Judge Rodgers heard oral arguments from both sides, and her decision will determine whether the litigation can move forward. Even if the litigation proceeds with the pilot trials, the outcomes will not be binding on other claims. However, they could help form the basis for a Depo shot lawsuit settlement agreement.

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