Birth Control Injuries Lawyer Washington DC
The Essure implant, which was approved by the FDA in 2002, was marketed as safe and permanent birth control. The birth control device was considered revolutionary, as it was the first device to provide women a non-surgical alternative to tubal ligation, but it may also cause women long-lasting injuries. However, it’s been linked to thousands of injuries and many deaths over the years.
Touted for requiring no surgery and being more than 99% effective, the birth control device uses two tiny coils permanently inserted in the fallopian tubes through the cervix and vagina to create a natural barrier against pregnancy. The procedure, which is irreversible, usually takes less than an hour and most patients are able to take part in full activities within a couple of days.
The coils prompt scar tissue to form over the following three months, which created a barrier against sperm reaching the eggs. During those three months, women should use an alternative form of birth control. Following a confirmation test to make sure the fallopian tubes are obstructed, Essure is intended to work permanently.
According to Bayer, Essure is more than 99% effective at preventing pregnancy and was safe for the vast majority of women. But there have been a massive number of patient complaints, and the results have been disputed by formal research.
The device was first developed by Conceptus, Inc. Bayer obtained the rights to Essure when it bought Conceptus in 2013. Since it was approved in 2002, there have been more than 26,000 Essure-related adverse event reports and at least 40 Essure-related deaths, including eight adult deaths, 20 reports of pregnancy loss, and four reports of infant death after live birth, have been reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
In 2017 alone, the FDA received 11,854 reports. Bayer was flooded with thousands of lawsuits after customers and their lawyers alleged the device did not perform properly and caused them harm.
Some of the issues reported include, but are not limited to: pain/abdominal pain, heavy menstruation/menstrual irregularities, headache, fatigue, weight fluctuation, patient-device incompatibility (such as metal allergy), pregnancy, pregnancy losses, migration of device or device component, malposition of device, device not operating as expected, device breakage and device difficult to insert or remove.
Additionally, the FDA has also received at least 1,826 reports of pregnancies in patients using Essure. Nearly half of these pregnancies resulted in pregnancy loss.
In reaction to the Essure problems, the FDA held an advisory committee meeting in September 2015, during which experts gave their opinions on the device, women testified about their experiences using Essure, and Bayer representatives answered questions from members of the FDA panel.
During the FDA’s meeting, Dr. Andrea Machlitt, a Director of Risk Management at Bayer, informed the FDA panel that Bayer had received 17,000 adverse event reports, including 15,000 from U.S. users. The FDA also disclosed that Essure complaints had increased by 1,400% in the previous three years.
Due to the abundance of complaints, the FDA ordered a “black box” warning to be added to Essure in 2016. With mounting lawsuits by a plethora of law firms around the country, Bayer announced they would stop sales of Essure by the end of 2018.
If you are in the DC area and are looking to file a lawsuit for any damages stemming from Essure birth control injuries you can reach us at a 24/7 live phone answering. So, if you need a DC lawyer who handles injury lawsuits contact Cohen & Cohen, call our Birth Control Injuries Lawyer in Washington DC.
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