ORTHO EVRA LAWSUIT INFORMATION

Birth Control Patch Related Blood Clots, Strokes, Heart Attacks & Deaths

On November 10, 2005, Ortho McNeil, a division of Johnson & Johnson issued a warning to millions of women using Ortho Evra regarding possible probelms that the birth control patch exposes them to significantly higher doses of hormones and may put them at greater risk for blood clots and other serious side effects than previously disclosed. According to the warning, women using Ortho Evra will be exposed to about 60 percent more estrogen than those using typical birth-control pills because hormones from patches get into the bloodstream and are removed from the body differently than those from pills.

This Ortho Evra warning comes after the Food and Drug Administration received twenty-one reports of life-threatening blood clots and other ailments associated with Ortho Evra birth control patch use. The contraceptive patch, manufactured by Ortho-McNeil, has been aggressively marketed to consumers and doctors as a convenient alternative to oral birth control pills. Approximately 4 million women have used the Ortho Evra Patch since it went on sale in 2002. Earlier this year The Associated Press reported that patch users die and suffer blood clots at a rate three times higher than women taking the pill.

According to an  news article on MSNBC in 2000, doctors at the FDA reviewing clinical trials of the patch warned that blood clots could be a problem if it was approved. In the clinical trials, two of the 3,300 women using the patch were treated for blood clots that traveled to their legs. Despite the safety concerns raised by a FDA review, the Ortho Evra patch was approved and no requirements for follow-up studies were ordered by the FDA. 

Medical reports show that the deaths of at least seventeen young American women over the past two years may be related to Ortho Evra patch use. The first fatality publicly blamed on the Otho Evra patch came in April 2005, when a Manhattan fashion student collapsed in a city subway station. An autopsy found a blood clot had moved into the victim's lung, and the medical examiner ruled that the clot was a side effect of the birth control device. FDA records show that seventeen patch users between the ages of 17 and 30 have suffered fatal heart attacks, blood clots and possible strokes since August 2002.

Approximately 4 million women have used the Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch since it went on sale in 2002. Now there are reports that the Ortho Evra patch has caused life-threatening blood clots, fatal heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms, and other serious medical problems in Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch users. There has been no Ortho Evra Recall announced by the FDA.  A number of Ortho Evra Class Action lawsuits have been filed, but no class action certified yet. Call and talk to a Ortho Evra Lawyer about Class Action Lawsuit Information     

ORTHO EVRA LAWSUIT ATTORNEY HELP

If you or a loved one have used Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch and have suffered a stroke, heart attack, blood clots or other life threatening injuries, then call us and talk to a Board Certified Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization lawyer. Get a Free Ortho Evra Lawsuit Consultation or call us at 1-800-883-9858