Yaz Birth Control Lawsuit Consolidation Requested in New Jersey

As the number of Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella birth control lawsuits in New Jersey state court continues to rise, a judge has requested consolidation of all cases involving allegations that the popular pills caused women to suffer a stroke, pulmonary embolism or other injury.

Assignment Judge Donald Volkert, Jr. filed a request with the Administrative Office of the Courts in New Jersey to centralize all Yaz lawsuits, Yasmin lawsuits or Ocella lawsuits in one county. There are already 39 complaints involving the popular birth control pills pending throughout the state, with 13 alone in Volkert’s district in Passaic County.

Yaz birth control lawyers who are investigating potential claims on behalf of women indicate that the number of cases filed in New Jersey state courts could ultimately exceed 1,000, with thousands more filed throughout the United States.

Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella are among the most widely used types of oral birth control pills. They involve a combination of ethinyl estradiol with a new type of progestin, drospirenone, which has been linked to an increased risk of serious and potentially life-threatening health problems, such as strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis, gallbladder disease and sudden death.

Yaz and Yasmin birth control are manufactured by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and Ocella birth control is a generic version that is sold by Teva Pharmaceuticals.

All of the Ocella, Yasmin and Yaz birth control lawsuit complaints filed in New Jersey and other courts throughout the United States involve similar allegations that the drug makers failed to adequately research the drug and concealed the risk of injury compared to other available birth control pills.

According to the New Jersey Law Journal, New Jersey’s Administrative Office of the Courts is considering Volkert’s proposal for mass tort and is accepting public comment on the proposal until December 31. Volkert argues that without the centralization, the number of existing and anticipated cases over the birth control pills could place a substantial strain on the state’s court system.

All federal Yaz litigation has already been consolidated for pretrial proceedings in an MDL, or multidistrict litigation before U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon in East St. Louis. In addition, Pennsylvania state courts have decided to consolidate the Yasmin and Yaz suits in Philadelphia.

If the Yaz birth control lawsuits are afforded mass tort treatment in New Jersey, then all pending cases in the state’s courts and any future cases filed will be assigned to one judge for coordinated handling.