Houston, Bayer, Mirena & Migraines: A recent case in the United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Southern Division recently ruled on a motion to dismiss.
Houston, Bayer, Mirena & Migraines case documents what many users of mirena implant may be experiencing today – pseudotumor cerebri,” also known as “idiopathic intracranial hypertension,” (hereinafter, “PTC/IIH”). The court ruled in favor of the Plaintiff and defendant in the case.
To find out more on the case, see Case No. 2:14-cv-00035-WMA – March 28, 2014.
A brief summary of the facts include:
- For purposes of this opinion, all facts alleged in the complaint are taken as true.
- Plaintiff is a 26-year-old woman seeking to recover damages for injuries she alleges were caused by Mirena, a birth control device manufactured by defendant.
- Mirena is a physical device placed in the uterus for up to five years.
- It regularly releases “levonorgestral,” a prescription medication, directly into the uterus.
- It is used for birth control, and “for treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding in women who choose to use intrauterine contraception as their method of contraception,”
- According to plaintiff, the levonorgestral released by Mirena has been linked to development of a condition called “pseudotumor cerebri,” also known as “idiopathic intracranial hypertension,” (hereinafter, “PTC/IIH”).
- PTC/IIH occurs when fluid builds up in the skull. It causes “severe migraines or migraine-like headaches with blurred vision, diplopia (double vision), temporary blindness, blind spots, or other visual deficiencies,” and “`whooshing’ or ringing in the ear, clinically called tinnitus,” If not corrected diagnosed and treated, it “may lead to permanent vision loss and even blindness.”
- PTC/IIH is treatable, but positive outcomes are not assured.
MIRENA INTRAUTERINE DEVICE
Mirena IntraUterine Device (IUD) is manufactured and marketed by Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals and was initially approved as a contraceptive device by the FDA in 2000.
It was later approved to treat heavy menstrual bleeding by the FDA in 2009. Bayer promoted Mirena as a safe form of birth control and aggressively marketed the IUD.
The Mirena IntraUterine Device (IUD) is a small, t-shaped, long-acting form of birth control that releases a synthetic hormone called progestogen levonorgestral.
For more information on mirena, follow this link – Mirena.
At the Gooch Law Firm, we pride ourselves on providing our clients reliable representation for even the most challenging cases. If you or a loved one received a mirena implant and have suffered an injury or side effect related to the mirena implant, contact our office at 1.844.329.5955.