Illinois Ortho Evra Litigation Law Firm

Chicago Unsafe Pharmaceutical Attorneys

Ortho Evra, a birth control patch that was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2001, has been known to put users at an increased risk for blood clots, heart attacks, strokes and pulmonary embolism, among other health complications.  An incredibly popular birth control method, the patch delivers the hormones estrogen and progestin directly into the bloodstream through the skin once attached to the body.  

Health Complications Caused by Ortho Evra

Many women have suffered heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and pulmonary embolism as a result of using the Ortho Evra patch.  Most experts agree that the dangers of the patch stem from its delivery system. By releasing estrogen directly into the bloodstream, a woman can end up with an estrogen level up to 60% higher than a woman taking the birth control pill. This increase is partly due to the fact that the absorption rate of a pill traveling through the digestive system is much lower than the patch, which delivers estrogen 24 hours a day.

Ortho Evra’s label explained that hormones from patches applied to the skin get into the blood stream and are removed from the body differently than hormones from birth control pills taken by mouth and warned that increased estrogen exposure may increase the risk of side effects.

Ortho Evra Litigation

The Ortho Evra birth control patch made national headlines in 2005, when Ortho McNeil, the manufacturer of Ortho Evra, warned millions of women that the patch exposes them to significantly higher doses of hormones and may put them at an increased risk for blood clots and other serious side effects than those previously disclosed.  The warning came 4 months after reports that patch users die and suffer from blood clots at a rate three times higher than women taking the birth control pill.  

Ortho Evra birth control patch lawsuits are becoming increasingly common as very young women are suffering heart attacks, strokes, blood clots and pulmonary embolism while using the patch.  Lawsuits filed against Orth Evra’s manufacturer, Ortho McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, generally claim that the drug company failed to adequately investigate the safety of the patch and deceived consumers about the potentially dangerous side effects, including the risks of strokes and blood clots.