The recent consolidation of numerous personal injury lawsuits stemming from injuries over Bayer AG’s intrauterine device (IUD) Mirena is good news for current plaintiffs and may help pave the way for other women who have experienced Mirena IUD side effects. Here is what the consolidation means to you.
Mirena Injury MDL
Lawsuits filed across the nation against Bayer over serious Mirena IUD injuries have been consolidated into Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), with an initial conference set for mid-May of 2013. According to Thomson Reuters News & Insight, the U.S. Judicial Panel on MDL rejected claims by Bayer that voluntary coordination by the parties was a more viable approach and transferred the case to the U.S. District Court in White Plains, New York. This is good news for current and future plaintiffs.
- Good News For Current Plaintiffs. The MDL is good news for current plaintiffs because it allows both sides to address discovery issues as a “whole” instead of individually – saving time, money and hassle. Although Bayer rejected the motion to consolidate the cases, the panel said:
While we agree that these actions present a number of individualized factual issues, the existence of such issues does not negate the common ones, including, in particular, those concerning the alleged risk of perforation and migration posed by the product and the adequacy of the product’s warning label with respect to those risks.
- Good News For Future Plaintiffs. The MDL is also good news for future plaintiffs because getting through the discovery phase of litigation in an MDL and possibly going through “test” trials (also known as Bellwether trials) can result in settlements between the parties by resolving common issues of fact. Unlike a class action lawsuit, cases involved in an MDL are not “combined” when it comes to settlement and can be sent back to their courts of origin if not resolved in the MDL process.
Have You Been Injured?
If you have been injured by Bayer’s Mirena IUD, contact The Driscoll Firm, LLC, to discuss your situation, determine if you might be entitled to compensation in the form of lost wages, hospital bills and pain and suffering and decide if taking legal action against the manufacturer makes sense for you.
