The copper IUD ParaGard can cause serious internal injuries in cases where the birth control device breaks when it is being removed from a woman’s body. In some instances, broken pieces of the IUD can lead to severe injuries that may require surgery.

Hundreds of women who have experienced complications involving ParaGard have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers of the copper IUD. If you or a loved one used ParaGard and experienced side effects from this birth control device, including those requiring surgical intervention, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for your injuries and medical costs.

➢ Why are lawsuits being filed against the makers of ParaGard?

ParaGard is a non-hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) that is designed to prevent pregnancy by the use of copper wires that are coiled around a T-shaped plastic frame. Under normal circumstances, the copper IUD can be left in place for up to 10 years.

However, complications may arise when it comes time to remove ParaGard from the body. In some cases, when a medical professional tries to remove ParaGard by pulling on a thin, monofilament wire attached to the device, pieces of the IUD can break off.

When ParaGard breaks as it is being removed, serious and potentially fatal side effects can result. Broken pieces of the copper IUD can cause pain, infections, or even infertility. These broken pieces can become embedded in the walls of the uterus, or migrate to other parts of the body, where they can cause tissue or organ damage.

The FDA has received thousands of reports of patients who experienced complications involving ParaGard copper IUDs. At least 15,000 of these reports involved serious complications. The FDA has also received at least 15 reports of patients who died as a result of side effects from ParaGard.

➢ Additional Medical Costs Linked to Complications from ParaGard

The risk of serious or fatal complications is not the only danger that women who use the ParaGard copper IUD need to be aware of. In many cases, side effects caused by this birth control device may require additional medical procedures or even surgery in order to remove broken pieces of the copper IUD from the body, or to repair organ or tissue damage caused by the device.

In cases where broken pieces of the ParaGard IUD migrate inside the body, it may be impossible for the medical professional who unsuccessfully tried to remove the device to locate these fragments. The intervention of a doctor or surgeon may be necessary in order to remove these pieces and prevent additional organ or tissue damage. When pieces of ParaGard become embedded in the uterus or other tissues, surgery may also be necessary in order to remove the broken portions of the IUD.

In the most serious cases, broken pieces of the ParaGard IUD can cause organ perforation or tissue damage, including damage to the uterus. Cases such as these may require surgery in order to repair the tissue and organ damage caused by the birth control device. In extreme cases, women with complications caused by ParaGard may be forced to undergo a hysterectomy due to the severity of their uterine injuries.

➢ ParaGard Lawsuits Consolidated in Georgia MDL

As more and more women have learned that the injuries they suffered during the removal of their copper IUD were linked to the defective design of this product, hundreds have filed lawsuits against Teva Pharmaceuticals and CooperSurgical, the manufacturers of ParaGard. These lawsuits have alleged that the companies failed to properly warn doctors and patients about the serious risk of side effects that could result from complications during the removal of the copper IUD.

In December 2020, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation combined more than two dozen of the ParaGard lawsuits that had been filed against Teva and CooperSurgial in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) located in the Northern District of Georgia. An MDL is a judicial process designed to streamline the discovery process of large, complicated dockets in order to make it easier for patients who experienced complications to collect a settlement. Unlike a class action lawsuit, each of the cases in an MDL remains separate.

All of the lawsuits that have been consolidated in the Georgia ParaGard MDL involve similar allegations that the IUD can break while being removed, leading to serious and potentially fatal complications. Now that the MDL has been formed, legal experts predict that more women with side effects linked to ParaGard will come forward to join the litigation.

➢ Do I qualify to file a ParaGard lawsuit?

Patients who have experienced complications involving ParaGard copper IUDs that broke while being removed may qualify to file a lawsuit and receive compensation for their injuries and medical costs. An experienced birth control attorney can tell you more about the lawsuits that have been filed by other women with complications from the copper IUD and advise you whether you may also qualify to take legal action.

For more information about filing a ParaGard lawsuit and to find out whether you may qualify to file a claim, contact the lawyers at Hissey, Mulderig & Friend by calling our office toll-free at 1-866-806-8117.

You can also contact our attorneys by filling out the free case evaluation form located on the right side of this page for desktop users and at the bottom of the page for mobile users. 

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