Yasmin Gallbladder Failure Lawsuit Filed Against Bayer

A lawsuit has been filed against Bayer by a California woman who suffered gallbladder failure after using Yasmin, alleging that the drug maker knew the birth control pill carried unacceptable health risk but released it any way.

The Yasmin gallbladder lawsuit was filed in San Mateo County Superior Court by Louise Thanos, who alleges that the oral contraceptive caused her to suffer organ failure in March 2008. Thanos indicates that she started using Yasmin birth control, which is an older version of the popular Yaz birth control pill, in November 2007 and has experienced gallbladder failure and other health problems.

The case is one of about 1,100 Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits filed on behalf of individual women who allege that they suffered injuries as a side effect of the birth control pills. In addition to lawsuits for gallbladder problems, cases have been filed by women who allege the pills caused them to suffer blood-clot related injuries, such as a stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis. The plaintiffs claim that Bayer failed to adequately research the birth control pills or warn about the increased risks when compared to other available forms of oral birth control.

Bayer has responded to the complaint by saying that the health risks of Yaz were included in the label, according to a report in the San Mateo County Times. The drug maker indicates that it intends to vigorously defend against the Yaz suits and Yasmin suits that have been filed in various state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Yaz and Yasmin are newer types of birth control pills, which contain a “fourth” generation progestin known as drospirenone. The progestin is only found in Yaz and Yasmin, which are both manufactured by Bayer, and a generic version of Yasmin marketed as Ocella. Thanos’s lawsuit claims that Bayer did not sufficiently test drospirenone before marketing it to the public.

Gallbladder problems from Yaz and Yasmin have been reported among many former users of the birth control. The gallbladder assists the body in the digestive process and stores bile produced by the liver, and many women indicate that they have experienced gallbladder failure as a side effect of Yaz or Yasmin, often requiring removal of the organ.

All federal Yaz and Yasmin cases are consolidated in an MDL, or multidistrict litigation, centralized in the Southern District of Illinois for pretrial litigation. There are also state level Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits consolidated in Pennsylvania and New Jersey courts. As Yasmin and Yaz lawyers continue to investigate and review potential new cases, it is expected that the number of cases filed will increase dramatically over the next year.