Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch Side Effects & Lawsuit News

08/04/2008- Oklahoma City, OK: When Gina first heard about the Ortho Evra Patch and its ease of use, she thought, "cool" and used it for a few years. But an incident happened when she was 25 that made her take it off--permanently. Gina believes she suffered a stroke. More>>>

07/24/2008- "I started wearing the Ortho Evra Patch in November, 2006 and just a few months later, I had sharp chest pains," says Gina. "I was so worried that I called my doctor; at first she thought I had pneumonia or pleurisy—was I misdiagnosed." More>>>

07/17/2008- Countless women have suffered blood clots, stroke and even death caused by the Ortho Evra patch. According to Elizabeth, the pill isn’t any safer. "My life could have ended if I continued taking the Ortho Evra pill," she says. Elizabeth suffered a pulmonary embolism, a common yet life-threatening condition. More>>>

07/10/2008- Carlie considers herself lucky to be alive. "The doctors in emergency said I was the youngest person they had ever heard of with a pulmonary embolism," she says. "And then they asked me if I was on birth control. I had been on the Ortho Evra Patch and they told me to take it off immediately." More>>>

07/03/2008- Chastity has been through hell and back, all because she wore the Ortho Evra Patch. She had no idea how dangerous this method of birth control was until her doctor said she almost died due to a huge blood clot caused by too much estrogen from the patch. More>>>

Perils of the patch
05/25/2008- Waves of controversy over the Ortho Evra patch have been highlighted in the news ever since the product has been linked with elevated risk of blood clots. The patch, mostly popular with younger women, has seen its sales decrease over the past few years as the risks have been highlighted by the press, and the makers of the product itself. More>>>

Public Citizen Tells FDA to Pull Ortho-Evra
05/19/2008- Public Citizen has asked the FDA to require Johnson & Johnson (J&J) to remove its birth control patch Ortho-Evra from the market within six months due to increased blood clot risks. More>>>

05/17/2008- Washington, DC: In November 2002, Tracy admitted herself to hospital with what she thought was either a migraine or the flu. She had been suffering from terrible headaches for several days. In fact, she had a blood clot in her brain, caused by the ortho evra birth control patch. More>>>

Is Ortho-Evra Birth Control Patch Dangerous?
05/15/2008- If you use the birth control patch Ortho-Evra, you could be endangering your health. That's what a law suit against Ortho-Evra's maker, Johnson and Johnson is claiming. More>>>

05/13/2008- A US consumer advocacy group is asking FDA to pull off Johnson & Johnson's birth control patches Ortho-Evra, because they pose health risk. More>>>

05/12/2008- The Ortho-Evra birth control patch is far riskier than the pill, a consumer advocacy group said. The group petitioned the government to remove the birth control patch from the market, as it represents a threat for women who use it. More>>>

Ennis & Ennis, P.A. Supports Petition To Remove Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch From U.S. Market

05/12/2008- Ennis & Ennis, P.A. is supporting the petition to the FDA, filed by Public Citizen, to remove the Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch from the U.S. market. More>>>

Ortho Evra Needs to Go, Public Citizen Says
05/10/2008- A prominent consumer advocacy group says Ortho Evra, Johnson & Johnson’s controversial birth control patch, is too dangerous to be on the market. Public Citizen is asking federal regulators to ban Ortho Evra because it poses a higher risk of potentially fatal blood clots than other hormone-based contraceptives. More>>>

05/09/2008- She was just 18 when the Ortho Evra patch claimed her life. A student, studying for a career in fashion. After she collapsed in a Manhattan subway in April 2005 and subsequently died, an autopsy revealed that a blood clot had formed and moved into the young lady's lung. More>>>

05/08/2008- A U.S. advocacy group is urging the Food and Drug Administration to pull Johnson & Johnson's birth control patch from the market after studies found an increased risk of dangerous blood clots. More>>>

05/07/2008- Currently, more than 3,000 women and their families in the United States are suing Johnson and Johnson, the makers of the Ortho Evra birth control patch, because they have suffered life threatening adverse health effects such as blood clots, heart attacks, and stroke, as a result of using this controversial form of birth control. Some 40 women have died while using it. More>>>

Ortho Evra Patch Makers Settling Cases
04/22/2008 -Evidence shows that Ortho Evra is dangerous and should be recalled from the market. Studies found that women using the Ortho Evra birth control patch were twice as likely to develop blood clots compared with those using oral birth control pills.

Consumer watch — Johnson & Johnson and the FDA

04/17/2008 - What's worse than breast tenderness and nausea in the female effort to prevent pregnancy? Heart attack, stroke or death. Quitting this week is going to consider the everyday erosions of our medical liberties by the political and economic culture at large. More>>>

Relying 'Solely' On FDA To Judge Safety Of Ortho Evra Patch Is A Mistake, Editorial Says
04/16/2008 - It would be a mistake to "rely solely" on FDA to judge the safety and efficacy of the birth control patch Ortho Evra, a New York Times editorial says. The editorial notes that the agency is short of skilled scientists and might not detect or appreciate the significance of important information buried "deep in the bowels" of a report (New York Times, 4/14). More>>>

The Dangers in Pre-emption
04/14/2008- The pharmaceutical industry and its good friends in the Bush administration are working hard to prevent consumers from filing damage suits for injuries caused by federally approved drug products. They may soon get a helping hand from the Supreme Court, which has already barred many suits over faulty medical devices. More>>>

Johnson & Johnson seeks to put blame on regulators
04/12/2008-For years, Johnson & Johnson obscured evidence that its popular Ortho Evra birth control patch delivered much more estrogen than standard birth control pills, potentially increasing the risk of blood clots and strokes, according to internal company documents. More>>>

A prescription for drug disaster
04/11/2008 - If an Ohio District Court rules in favor of Johnson & Johnson in an upcoming case, it will set the precedent that drug companies are no longer responsible for their medicines’ unadvertised side effects. This legal shield would let drug companies literally get away with murder. More>>>

New York Times Examines Johnson And Johnson's Pre-Emption Defense

04/09/2008 - The New York Times on Sunday examined Johnson & Johnson's use of the legal doctrine of preemption to defend against claims that the birth control patch Ortho Evra causes blood clots or other adverse effects. More>>>

04/08/2008 - Drug companies appear to be close to gaining a long-coveted prize: A shield against patient lawsuits. The Bush administration has been arguing in favor of it, saying that only the FDA has the expertise to regulate pharma. And the Supreme Court will rule during its next term on a case that could make FDA approval pre-empt any liability claims. More>>>

A dangerous legal shield for drug makers

04/08/2008 - Let’s say a drug company hides damaging findings during medical trials of a new cholesterol-lowering drug. Unaware of those health risks, the federal Food and Drug Administration approves the product. More>>>

04/07/2008 - Johnson & Johnson maintains that it can’t be sued by thousands of women who claim they were injured by the company’s birth control patch because the FDA approved the product as safe and effective. More>>>

Drug Makers Near Old Goal: A Legal Shield

04/07/2008 - For years, Johnson & Johnson obscured evidence that its popular Ortho Evra birth control patch delivered much more estrogen than standard birth control pills, potentially increasing the risk of blood clots and strokes, according to internal company documents. More>>>

Birth Control Patch Under Fire

03/24/08 - The birth control patch gives millions of women the freedom of not taking a pill every day. But one Bay Area woman believes that convenience caused her a potentially life-threatening condition and now she's part of a class action lawsuit. More>>>

FDA approves update to label on Ortho birth control patch

02/01/08 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved additional changes to the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal (Skin) Patch label to include the results of a new epidemiology study that found that users of the birth control patch were at higher risk of developing serious blood clots, also known as venous thromboembolism or VTE, than women using birth control pills. VTE can lead to pulmonary embolism. More>>>

Health Canada raises red flag on birth control patch

01/30/08 - The Evra birth control patch may be more convenient than the pill for many Canadian women, but while new evidence suggests it may also be more dangerous, doctors are urging calm. More>>>

01/28/2008 - The warnings section of physician labeling for Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) birth control patch Ortho Evra was updated Jan. 18 to reflect data from a new epidemiology study that found the product increases the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) when compared with traditional birth control pills. VTE can lead to pulmonary embolism, the FDA said. More>>>

FDA Announces Ortho Evra Label Will Include New Data On Increased Risk Of Blood Clots

01/24/2008 - FDA on Friday announced that the label for the birth control patch Ortho Evra -- made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ortho McNeil -- will include new data on a study that found a higher risk of blood clots among women who use the patch, Reuters Health reports. More>>>

01/24/2008 - With many women still searching for the perfect birth control method, asystematic review analyzes a host of studies comparing the contraceptive skin patch or vaginal ring to the pill. More>>>

01/22/2008 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved additional changes to the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal (Skin) Patch label. More>>>

01/22/2008 - FDA modified the prescribing information for the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal (Skin) Patch to include the results of a new epidemiology study that found that users of the birth control patch were at higher risk of developing serious blood clots, also known as venous thromboembolism. More>>>

01/18/2008 - A woman who uses the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal Patch runs a higher risk of developing VTE (venous thromboembolism) - serious blood clots - compared to a woman who does not use the patch, prompting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve additional changes to the patch's label. The FDA informs that VTE can lead to pulmonary embolism. More>>>

J&J contraceptive patch to include more risk data
01/18/2008 - The label for a Johnson & Johnson contraceptive patch will include new data from a second study showing a higher risk of blood clots compared with birth-control pills, U.S. regulators said on Friday. More>>>

01/18/2008 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved additional changes to the Ortho Evra Contraceptive Transdermal (Skin) Patch label to include the results of a new epidemiology study that found that users of the birth control patch were at higher risk of developing serious blood clots, also known as venous thromboembolism (VTE), than women using birth control pills. More>>>

01/11/2008 - The Evra birth control patch may be more convenient than the pill for many Canadian women, but new evidence suggests it may also be more dangerous. More>>>

Drug company, adverse reaction report remind of birth control blood clot risks

01/09/2008 - Sixteen cases of blood clots and one heart attack among users of a birth control patch have been reported since the patch was introduced to Canada in early 2004, says a report. More>>>

Red flag for birth control patch

01/09/2008 - Two Canadian women have died and numerous others have suffered blood clots, heart attacks and other medical problems in the span of about four years after using the well-known but increasingly controversial Evra birth-control patch, according to a Health Canada report. More>>>

J&J Altered Birth-Control Patch Data to Hide Risks
11/29/2007 - Johnson & Johnson misled doctors and regulators for years by altering and withholding medical data about the health risks of its Ortho Evra birth-control patch, lawyers for women suing the company claim in court papers. More>>>>

Ortho Evra maker and pharmacies sued by nine in St. Clair County
11/12/2007 - Users of the birth control patch Ortho Evra filed suit against its manufacturer and several pharmacies in St. Clair County Circuit Court Nov. 1 claiming the product caused them to suffer from pulmonary emboli, venous thromboembolism and other severe injuries. More>>>>

J&J Pays $1.25 Million to Settle Suit Over Death of 14-Year-Old
10/24/2007 - Johnson & Johnson agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a lawsuit over the death of a 14-year-old girl who used the company's Ortho Evra birth-control patch, according to court records. More>>>>

Ortho Evra patch cited in suit against Ortho-McNeil, J&J
10/23/2007 - A St. Clair County plaintiff claims her use of a transdermal contraceptive patch caused her to develop deep vein thrombosis. More>>>>

Sue Birth Control Companies for Your Health, Says American Life League
10/11/2007 - Tobacco kills. So does hormonal birth control. Why can Planned Parenthood freely market birth control products, but Phillip Morris must comply with an increasing array of restrictions? More>>>>

09/24/2007 - Pushing America's budgetary mess onto those citizens with the least economic and political power has reached a new low, with the cost of subsidized monthly birth control increasing by as much as 800 percent for women who rely on Planned Parenthood and student health clinics. More>>>>

Federal legislation has made birth control unaffordable for college students
09/20/2007 - It's gotten a lot more expensive for college women to buy birth control this year. As many students returned to campus this fall, higher prices of hormonal contraceptives like the pill and the patch have many cash-strapped collegians reevaluating whether birth control is worth the extra cash. More >>>>

J&J faces thousands of Ortho lawsuits
09/19/2007 - The numbers keep adding up for the Ortho Evra birth-control patch.

Not sales -- those are down sharply -- but the docket of product liability cases filed against Johnson & Johnson, the maker of the one-of-a-kind contraceptive. More >>>>

J&J Executive Told Company Ortho Evra Risk Downplayed
09/18/2007 - Johnson & Johnson improperly claimed its Ortho Evra birth-control patch posed a low safety risk to women, a product-safety executive told Chief Executive Officer William Weldon in a 2005 letter, court records show. More >>>>

08/29/2007 - Sales of Ortho Evra, the first birth-control patch, plunged last year after the FDA cautioned that it exposed women to higher levels of a hormone linked to dangerous blood clots than do oral contraceptives. More >>>>

New Concerns Raised Over Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch
06/21/2007 - New warnings about one forrm of birth control, especially popular with young women. Ortho Evra is a once-a-week birth control patch that's proven just as effective as the pill. In fact, one clinical study finds women who use the patch are more likely to use it consisitently and properly, than women who use birth control pills. But there are serious risks, serious enough to compel one local ob-gyn group to stop prescribing it to patients. More >>>>

09/20/2006 - Women were warned Wednesday that their risk of blood clots in the legs and lungs may be higher if they use the birth-control patch instead of the pill. More >>>>

Caps on Civil-suit Damages Put on Fast Track Judge in Toledo Asks Top Ohio Court to Help Sort Legal Issue
Toledo Blade
06/21/2006 - U.S. District Judge David Katz of Toledo asked the state's high court yesterday to decide on the legality of the cap because it could affect a lawsuit before him in which Ohio litigants are suing Ortho Evra, alleging the company's birth control patch caused serious side effects or death. More >>>>

Patch Maker Payout
NY Times
04/09/2006 - Women who suffered life-threatening blood clots and strokes on the Ortho-Evra birth-control patch are receiving cash settlements from the manufacturer, which allegedly failed to warn customers about the known risks, The Post has learned. More>>>>

Ortho Evra Dangers
01/23/2006 - Most hormone delivering birth control carries some risk, but this relatively new product may be more dangerous than other birth control on the market.
More >>>>

01/10/2006 - University Health Services (UHS) informed students about the dangerous side effects of the birth control patch in a series of information sessions that began last semester and will continue tomorrow.
More >>>>

FDA Updates Labeling for Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch
12/21/05 - The Food and Drug Administration today approved updated labeling for the Ortho Evra contraceptive patch to warn healthcare providers and patients that this product exposes women to higher levels of estrogen than most birth control pills.
More >>>>

FDA Labeling For Ortho Evra Contraceptive Patch
11/14/05 - The Food and Drug Administration warned has approved a label change with an Ortho Evra Patch Warning
More >>>>

08/09/05 - The Food and Drug Administration warned users of the popular Ortho Evra birth control patch that they are being exposed to more hormones, and are therefore at higher risk of blood clots and other serious side effects, than previously disclosed.
More >>>>

Birth Control Patch Linked to Deaths, Strokes07/17/05 - Often, the FDA approves drugs after trials with a few thousand users only to see problems emerge later when the drug reaches the general market. More >>>>

Birth Control Patch Linked to Deaths, Strokes
Health Day -
07/17/05 - About a dozen young women died last year from blood clots believed to be related to the birth-control patch Ortho Evra, and dozens more survived strokes and other clot-related problems, safety reports reveal. More >>>>

Contra-Deception
05/08/05 - New questions about the safety of a trendy contraceptive patch have been raised with revelations that the maker's chief researcher faked data in previous scientific studies. More >>>>

THE PATCH OF 'DEATH'
10/10/04 - A popular and profitable contraceptive patch promoted by sexy TV ads caused 11 times as many fatal or life-threatening blood clots as a leading birth-control pill, a new lawsuit charges. More >>>>

'SEX PATCH' TIED TO 17 DEATHS: FDA
01/09/04 - A trendy contraceptive patch which has been aggressively marketed using sexy ads, fashion models and Olympic athletes has been linked to the deaths of at least 17 young American women in the past two years, The Post has learned. More >>>>

Update on Contraception:
Benefits and Risks of the New Formulations
Auguts 2003 - Several new contraceptives have become available to women in recent years. These new agents include ultra-low-dose oral contraceptives as well as injectable, vaginal, and patch formulations. We review these, with emphasis on the Yasmin pill (which contains a new progestin), the Lunelle once-a-month injection, the Ortho Evra patch, the NuvaRing vaginal ring, the Mirena intrauterine device, and emergency contraceptive kits. Patient education regarding these options is essential for patient compliance and satisfaction. More >>>>

If you or someone you love has used the Ortho Evra Birth Control Patch and has experienced side effects such as: arrhythmia, heart attack, stroke, blood clots, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) you need to know your legal rights. Call our Orth Evra side effects lawyers for a free legal consultation or to ask questions about a possible Ortho Evra lawsuit or Ortho Evra recall.
1-800-856-6405.

Ortho Evra News