QUESTION

What is the Status of the Litigation for NuvaRing?

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ANSWER

For over five years, the product liability lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. have been representing women throughout the United States who suffered a stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or other blood clot from NuvaRing birth control.

Please note that the lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are no longer taking on new cases involving NuvaRing. The content on this page is provided for informational purposes only.

As of August 2013, the NuvaRing litigation consists of approximately 1,500 individual injury lawsuits filed in state and federal courts throughout the United States. The first trial is expected to begin in the federal court system in early 2014, and the court has ordered the parties to meet with a mediator to review potential NuvaRing settlements or other resolutions for the litigation.

All of the complaints involve similar allegations that the manufacturer failed to adequately research the side effects of the birth control ring or warn woman that they may face an increased risk of blood clots compared to older birth control pills.

FEDERAL AND STATE COURT NUVARING LITIGATION STATUS

In the federal court system, all lawsuits involving NuvaRing have been consolidated for pretrial proceedings as part of a multidistrict litigation (or NuvaRing MDL). Lawsuits filed in federal district courts throughout the country are centralized before Judge Rodney Sippel in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to avoid contradictory rulings and duplicative discovery proceedings.

A handful of NuvaRing cases have been selected for early trial dates in the MDL, known as “bellwether” cases, which are designed to help the parties gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence that will be introduced throughout the litigation.

According to an Order issued in July 2013, the first trial in the NuvaRing MDL will begin in January 2014, involving a lawsuit filed by a woman who sufferd a significant NuvaRing pulmonary embolism, which involves a blood clot that breaks free and travels to the lungs.

At the state court level, a number of lawsuits have been filed in several different jurisdictions, with most pending in New Jersey, where Merck is based. The New Jersey NuvaRing litigation has been centralized as a “Mass Tort”, where all of the cases have been assigned to Judge Brian Martinotti in Bergen County.

As a result of the consolidated federal and state court proceedings, most equate this with a NuvaRing class action lawsuit. However, the claims are individual lawsuits and each plaintiff must establish that their NuvaRing caused their blood clot injury and that the drug maker failed to adequately warn about the risk.

TIME MAY STILL REMAIN TO JOIN THE LITIGATION

In complex pharmaceutical litigation like this, the results of early trials often factor heavily into any settlement negotiations. As firm trial dates approach, there may be increased pressure on the defendant to try to reach a resolution for the litigation. However, there is currently no cut off for new cases and time may still remain to bring your case.

The NuvaRing lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are continuing to investigate new lawsuits for women who may be entitled to financial compensation. Every case does have a deadline, known as the NuvaRing statute of limitations, so it is important to review any lawsuit as soon as possible.

Austin Kirk

Last Updated August 13, 2013
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1 Comment

1 Comment • Add Your Comments

  • Natyisha says:

    The nuvaring, how it ruined my life but I can’t be compensated. I started using nuvaring in 2010 after the second time I removed it I was getting ready to make breakfast for my son and sister as much as I can remember instead of making them breakfast I woke up in the hospital with abused face and head I was told I had a seizure. After that I continued to have grand mal seizures still to this day every time I have a seizure I wake up in piss with a bitten and swollen tongue.. I never had a seizure in my life prior to that day. This has been the worst 6 years of my life . I’ve had several tests done and they don’t know what’s causing the seizures… They won’t even give me disability benefits .. I’ve lost myself having to take all these medications gaining all this weight from the medicine still to this day wondering why me… I hope every woman got what they deserved and then some from the makers of nuvaring..

    Posted on April 30, 2016 at 7:48 pm

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