NuvaRing Cases Move Toward Trial

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Aug. 15, 2013 - PRLog --  

            The first NuvaRing MDL trial is expected to take place in January 2014 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri before Judge Rodney Sippel.  As of July 1, 2013, there were approximately 1,500 NuvaRing cases nationwide.  Of those cases, nearly 1,300 are pending in the MDL while the remaining 200 cases are pending in coordinated proceedings in the Bergen County Superior Court of New Jersey before Judge Brian R. Martinotti.

 

            NuvaRing is a birth control device manufactured by Organon USA Inc. a subsidiary of Merck.  It is a flexible ring that is inserted into the vagina where it releases fertility suppressing hormones. These hormones pose a greater risk of venous thromboembolism.   In October 2011, The FDA released the findings of government research indicating women who used the NuvaRing were at a 56 percent higher risk of suffering blood clotting that led to deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism than women on birth control pills. In 2012, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that vaginal rings like NuvaRing could nearly triple women’s risk of developing blood clots when compared to the risk associated with older birth control pills. 
[http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1111840 June 14, 2012]

Another study published in the May 2012 British Medical Journal reported that women’s risk of developing blood clots increased by more than 6 times when using vaginal rings like NuvaRing, as opposed to birth control pills. 


 

Women nationwide filed suit against Organon, claiming negligence in investigating the device’s side effects, failure to warn users of health risks, falsely marketing the product as “safe” and “effective,” and inadequate design, testing, and manufacturing methods. The parties originally selected a pool of more than 20 cases to prepare for trial. This pool was then narrowed down to seven cases from which the first trials will be selected.  Judge Sippel recently denied Organon’s motion for summary judgment in the first NuvaRing MDL trial starting in January.  Judge Sippel also denied Organon’s motion for summary judgment on a NuvaRing’s plaintiff’s punitive damages claim, holding the device’s label does not foreclose punitive damages because it does not explicitly warn of the difference in risk of venous thromboembolism and pulmonary embolism.

 

            There are possible settlement negotiations in the works as well. Judge Sippel’s July 30, 2013 Order provides that the parties are ordered to maintain regular and frequent contact with the mediator who will report the status of any negotiations to the Court.

Ennis & Ennis, P.A. continues to offer free, nationwide, confidential consultations to anyone who was injured by the NuvaRing by calling toll free 1-800-856-6405 or by going to www.ennislaw.com and completing an online case evaluation form.