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As more women choose to file a Mirena IUD lawsuit, dozens of claims pending in federal courts throughout the country have been transferred to the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York for consolidated pretrial proceedings. All of the claims pending in the new multidistrict litigation allege the Mirena IUD migrated away from its original position in the uterus, leading to uterine perforations and other serious Mirena side effects. The Mirena IUD is a long-acting birth control device that is implanted into a woman’s uterus, where it releases a low-dose of the synthetic progestin, levonorgestrel, directly into a woman’s body. In addition to being approved in the U.S. as a contraceptive, Mirena is also approved as a treatment for heavy menstrual cramps in women who wish to use an IUD as their primary form of birth control. Recent statistics from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) indicate that thousands of apparent Mirena side effects, including device migration and uterine perforations, have been reported to the agency’s database since the IUD was first approved in 2000. Mirena IUD lawsuits allege Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals failed to adequately warn of complications associated with the device, and accuse the company of overstating its purported benefits. While the Mirena label warns that the IUD can migrate upon insertion, there is no information regarding spontaneous dislocation that can allegedly occur long after insertion. Among other things, plaintiffs point out that the FDA cited Bayer in 2009 for running Mirena promotions that misleadingly overstated its benefits and downplaying serious Mirena side effects. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered the consolidation of all federally-filed Mirena IUD lawsuits in New York because of the likelihood that a large number of claims will be filed. The consolidated litigation will preserve the resources of the court and parties, and it will avoid the likelihood of conflicting rulings in the various lawsuits. Any claims that can’t be resolved by the multidistrict litigation process will be returned to their court of original filing for pretrial proceedings. U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel has been assigned to preside over the federal Mirena IUD litigation. On April 12, 2013, Judge Seibel issued the first Order in the proceeding, and scheduled its first official conference for May 11th, 2013.
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