The widely used copper IUD known as Paragard may be prone to breakage, migration or other problems occurring shortly after implantation or upon removal. These problems can cause serious complications for women who use the birth control device, possibly including organ perforation, scarring inside the uterus and the need for revision surgery to remove the fractured IUD components. If you or someone you love experienced complications while using Paragard IUD or suffered serious injuries upon removal of the birth control device, contact a knowledgeable Paragard IUD injury attorney as soon as possible to discuss the possibility of filing a Paragard lawsuit for damages.
Women implanted with Paragard IUD have begun filing lawsuits against the current and former makers of the intrauterine device. The Paragard IUD lawsuits allege, among other things, that the manufacturers failed to provide adequate warnings about the potential risk of side effects associated with the birth control device. Many affected women started using Paragard believing it was safe and ended up suffering dangerous side effects during routine removal of the device or as a result of the device unexpectedly migrating out of position within their body. In one Paragard lawsuit, a Florida woman alleged that she began experiencing severe complications within just one year of having her Paragard IUD implanted. It was discovered that the copper IUD had migrated out of her uterus and become embedded in her colon and she required surgery to remove the device.
In response to a growing number of reports detailing problems with Paragard IUD, product liability lawyers across the country are investigating cases from women who say they were seriously injured by Paragard. If the medical device maker knew about the risks associated with Paragard and failed to warn users or the medical community, the company should be held accountable for the harm their device caused.
A growing number of lawsuits accuse the manufacturers of Paragard of:
• Designing a defective and dangerous medical device
• Knowing about the potential risk of side effects from Paragard
• Failing to adequately research the potential complications associated with Paragard
• Misrepresenting Paragard as a safe and effective birth control device
• Failing to warn users about the potential risk of Paragard breakage, migration and other side effects
“Paragard is one of five different intrauterine devices available in the United States and is the only non-hormonal option. Mirena, Kyleena, Liletta and Skyla are IUDs that work by using the hormone levonorgestrel.”
Paragard is a small, T-shaped intrauterine device (IUD) designed to be implanted in the uterus as a long-term, reversible form of birth control. Unlike oral contraceptives, Paragard does not use artificial hormones to prevent pregnancy. Rather, the IUD features a copper wire coiled around a plastic frame that produces an inflammatory reaction that is toxic to sperm and eggs. Paragard was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more than 30 years ago and was originally manufactured by Teva Pharmaceuticals, before being acquired by The Cooper Companies, Inc. in 2017. One of the key benefits of Paragard is that placement is nonsurgical and takes only a few minutes. In fact, it can be done by a healthcare provider during a routine office visit. And once the device is in place, Paragard is meant to provide continuous pregnancy prevention for up to 10 years and can be removed at any time. Unfortunately for many women, using and removing Paragard is not as easy as advertised.
The economic and non-economic damages that can arise in a Paragard IUD lawsuit include:
• Medical expenses
• Cost of surgery
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages due to missed time at work
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent disability or disfigurement
• Loss of consortium
IUDs are one of the easiest and most efficient birth control methods on the market. They are designed to provide continuous pregnancy prevention for up to a decade and trials show that they are more than 99% effective. For this reason, Paragard and other IUDs have become a popular method of birth control for women looking for a low-maintenance, hormone-free alternative to oral contraceptives. However, serious concerns have been raised about the safety of Paragard IUD, following reports of the device migrating out of position or breaking apart inside of women’s bodies during the removal process. Some women have required surgery to have the broken Paragard pieces removed and others have suffered serious complications like perforation of the uterine wall, organ damage, scarring inside the uterus, inflammation or injury from copper pieces left inside the body, and the possible need for a hysterectomy.
Since 2010, the FDA has received more than 1,600 reports of device breakage and other problems with Paragard IUD. According to reports, defects in the design or manufacturing of Paragard may render the device vulnerable to snapping at the T-joint during the removal process, causing the device to break apart inside the body. If this happens and the physician is unable to locate the broken arm of the IUD, it could become embedded in and cause irreversible damage to the uterus. Other adverse event reports submitted to the FDA have highlighted incidents where women experienced partial or full expulsion of the device, requiring surgery, or had their Paragard IUD removed by their doctor, only to find that the copper coil was missing from the frame.
