Hissey, Mulderig & Friend

The U.S. District judge in Georgia who is overseeing federal lawsuits involving the copper IUD Paragard has selected 10 lawsuits that will be the first to go to trial out of the hundreds that have been filed. Judge Leigh Martin May has ordered a trial date of March 2024 for the 10 “bellwether” Paragard lawsuits that were selected.

More than 1,700 women whose Paragard IUDs broke during removal have filed lawsuits in federal court against Teva Pharmaceuticals and Cooper Surgical, the manufacturers of the copper IUD. These hundreds of lawsuits have alleged that Paragard is prone to break when the device is being removed. Broken pieces of the IUD can cause additional injuries or remain in a woman’s body, which may require surgery in order to remove them.

Paragard Lawsuits Consolidated in Georgia MDL

Because so many lawsuits involving broken Paragard IUDs have been filed in federal court, these cases were consolidated in what is known as a multidistrict litigation, or MDL, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia before Judge May in December 2020. All current and future lawsuits filed in federal court involving Paragard were transferred to the Georgia district court in order to streamline and speed up the litigation process.

The 10 lawsuits scheduled by Judge May to be the first to go to trial in the litigation are what is known as “bellwether” cases. These 10 bellwether cases, which will be selected by lawyers for women who were injured by Paragard and attorneys for the manufacturers of the IUD, will help lawyers for both sides understand how juries are likely to react to the evidence that is presented in the cases. The outcome of these 10 bellwether trials will then be used to establish a basis for settlement negotiations in the litigation for the hundreds of other cases that have been filed.

Complications Linked to Broken Paragard IUDs

The Food and Drug Administration has received tens of thousands of reports of complications linked to Paragard, including at least 15,000 reports of serious complications and 15 deaths.

Many of these reports involve cases where the copper IUD broke when it was being removed by a health care professional. In many cases, women whose Paragard IUDs broke may be forced to undergo a hysteroscopy or other surgery in order to remove the broken pieces of the IUD. Some women whose IUDs broke during removal have been forced to undergo a hysterectomy because of damage to their uterus caused by Paragard.

In other cases, pieces of the broken Paragard IUDs may cause additional complications, including:

• Pieces embedded in the uterus
• Migration to other areas of the body
• Infection
• Organ perforation
• Other organ damage
• Infertility

Although the federal Paragard litigation is already underway in Georgia, there is still time for women whose IUD broke during removal to file a lawsuit in order to seek compensation. The first step in taking legal action is to speak with an experienced attorney, who can advise you regarding your legal rights and help you to determine whether you may be eligible to file a claim.

Start Your Claim Today

If you or a loved one were implanted with a Paragard copper IUD that broke during removal, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your injuries and medical expenses.

To start the process of filing your claim today, contact the law firm of Hissey Mulderig & Friend by calling our office toll-free at 1-866-806-8117, or by filling out our free claims form located at the top of this page.