Ortho Evra Lawsuits Being Settled For Millions, Complaints Continue

Lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson over its Ortho Evra birth control patch are being settled for millions of dollars. Legal analysts say that this trend should continue due to the company's alleged withholding of information that the patch was more dangerous than advertised.

Too much estrogen

Lawsuits filed against Johnson & Johnson allege that the company knew about the dangers of the Ortho Evra, a once-a-week birth control patch that is advertised as being as safe as traditional daily use birth control pills to avoid pregnancy. In particular, the lawsuits allege that the patch caused deep-vein thrombosis, blood clots in the lungs and legs and pulmonary thrombosis which can lead to heart attacks and strokes. At this time, approximately 20 women, including one 17 year old, have died due to the alleged use of the product.

Settlements

Johnson & Johnson has spent nearly $70 million to settle hundreds of the lawsuits so far, according to Bloomberg News, and many more are pending. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 4,000 lawsuits have been filed against the manufacturer. However, as the company continues to settle these lawsuits, more and more women are complaining about the product.

The following complaints were posted on the product review website, www.rateitall.com:

• I am 25 years old, do not drink, do drugs, or smoke, and have used Ortho Evra since 2004. I recently suffered a pulmonary embolism as a result, with blood clots in both lungs which almost killed me. Had it not been for the extreme pain in trying to breathe or move, I wouldn't have gone to the ER and would have died. PLEASE GET OFF THIS DRUG TO SAVE YOUR LIFE!
• I would rate this patch a zero. Ladies stay clear away!!! It ruined my life. I tried it out because I thought it was great since I hated taking pills. I was on it for 2 months when I started getting very bad chest pains. One day my fiancée rushed me to the hospital, because my chest hurt so bad I couldn't breathe and almost passed out. I screamed and cried in pain. When at the hospital, I found out through a CT of the chest that I had bi-lateral pulmonary embolisms in my lungs (blood clots) I was hospitalized for over a week.
• I got SO SICK only a couple days after putting on the patch. I got extremely dizzy, nauseous, and weak. I was sweating and having trouble breathing. As soon as I took it off, my symptoms started clearing up within hours. I would never recommend it to anyone!