Mirena IUD lawsuits

Federally filed Mirena IUD lawsuits could soon be consolidated following a petition brought by plaintiffs on January 16, 2013 to the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL). The plaintiffs seek to consolidate federally-filed claims in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio.

The eight lawsuits seeking consolidation allege that the Mirena IUD may have the potential to migrate outside of the uterus and that the device was defectively designed. Women who have filed Mirena IUD lawsuits typically allege injuries that include abscesses, infection, intestinal perforations or obstructions, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancies, and infertility. Despite these injuries and that, more often than not, women must undergo surgery to have the devices removed, Bayer has not yet issued a Mirena recall.

The Mirena IUD lawsuits state that the contraceptive device is used by more than 2 million women in the U.S. and that Bayer, the maker of the Mirena IUD, has long overstated the device’s efficacy, while also minimizing the device’s negative side effects. The Mirena IUD contraceptive is a t-shaped device that is placed inside of the uterus by a medical professional. The device, which releases the hormone levonorgestrel, can remain in the uterus for up to five years.

Although Bayer sought to coordinate all Mirena IUD lawsuits under a single judge in Middlesex County Superior Court, the request, involving 16 pending cases in New Jersey, was denied January 8, 2013. The request was made August 2012.