By: SYLVIA HSIEH, BridgeTower Media Newswires//August 4, 2011//
By: SYLVIA HSIEH, BridgeTower Media Newswires//August 4, 2011//
Boston – Discovery in the multidistrict litigation over the birth control drugs Yaz/Yasmin has been expanded beyond the 24 selected bellwether cases.
Judge David R. Herndon, who oversees the litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, has decided to allow case-specific discovery in up to 100 additional cases, including depositions of individual plaintiffs.
Over 6,000 federal lawsuits have been filed alleging that the drugs carry dangerous risks that the manufacturer Bayer failed to warn about.
Plaintiffs contend that the new progestin component in Yaz/Yasmin, drospirenone, causes potassium levels to rise, leading to injuries such as strokes, hearts attacks, deep vein thrombosis and gallbladder damage.
The first trial dates are set for September of this year, as well as January and April 2012.