A New Jersey state court will hear the first two cases involving injuries related to the Yaz, Yasmin and Ocella birth control pills in the fall of 2012, according to aboutlawsuits.com. They are two of the over 1,000 product liability lawsuits pending in New Jersey. The first two trials will be bellwether trials for the rest of the claims.
Courts use the bellwether approach when there are a large number of plaintiffs proceeding on the same theory or claim. The bellwether trials, or test trials, try the common claims and the results act as an indicator for the remaining cases.
The New Jersey Superior Court Judge asked each side to select three cases involving allegations of pulmonary embolism, three cases involving gall bladder injuries and three cases involving allegations of venous thromboembolism. The court will select the two cases from the pool chosen by the parties.
In addition to the cases in New Jersey state court, there are over 6,000 cases pending in federal court and in other state courts. All of the lawsuits accuse Bayer of failing to adequately warn women about the increased risk of serious injuries associated with the contraceptive, such as stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism and gall bladder disease.
A New Jersey court order scheduled the first Yaz trial for September 10, 2012. The second trial date is November 27, 2012.
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