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Our law firm
is accepting cases regarding the following injuries
related to use of the Ortho Evra Patch: Stroke,
Pulmonary Embolism, Heart Attack, Deep Vein Thrombosis
and Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. These injuries
primarily arise from blood clots formed due to the use
of the patch.
If you or a
family member is diagnosed with any of these conditions
in the future related use of the Patch, please contact
our firm at 1-800-399-0795.
If you or a
family member experience symptoms which you believe may
be related to the Ortho Evra Patch, including chest pain
or leg pain that may indicate a blood clot, be sure to
consult your doctor. You may also want to report to the
Food and Drug Administration any side effects related to
the Ortho Evra Patch. You may contact the FDA to submit
an adverse event report at www.FDA.gov/medwatch.
Ortho Evra
Side Effects
Ortho Evra
side effects have received serious attention since the
publication of an Associated press study indicating that
this contraceptive triples a patient’s risk of
developing serious and life threatening blood clots.
Experts believe that Ortho McNeil, the makers of the
birth control patch, knew about serious Ortho Evra side
effects before this medication was approved in 2001.
Ortho McNeil has been accused of failing to warn
consumers about these serious potential Ortho Evra side
effects.
Ortho Evra
has been prescribed to over two million women in the
United States, in large part due to aggressive marketing
tactics used to attract consumers to this potentially
defective product. Ortho McNeil employed such marketing
tactics as wide spread coupon distribution and catchy
advertising slogans to encourage women to use this form
of hormonal contraception.
What the
pharmaceutical subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson failed
to mention during their aggressive marketing campaigns
were the significant Ortho Evra side effects discovered
during pre-marketing clinical trials. Before this drug
was approved for use in the United States, Ortho McNeil
conducted a clinical trial designed to measure the
safety and effectiveness of Ortho Evra in over three
thousand patients. Two cases of serious Ortho Evra side
effects were reported in women using the birth control
patch. Both women had no history of blood clots before
developing pulmonary embolism shortly after commencing
Ortho Evra treatment.
Pulmonary
embolism is one of the most serious and life threatening
Ortho Evra side effects. When a blood clot develops in a
deep vein of the leg or pelvic region, a condition
called deep vein thrombosis (DVT), it can break off and
travel to the lungs and block a major artery. This
condition is called pulmonary embolism (PE). Both of
these Ortho Evra side effects were known before this
drug was approved. One FDA official stated before Ortho
Evra was approved, “Post-marketing surveillance for DVT
and PE events will be important, as there are potential
serious adverse risks with the new delivery system for
contraception.”
Ortho Evra
chose to proceed with marketing the birth control patch,
despite concerns about Ortho Evra side effects. The
pharmaceutical company conducted no further
investigation of these risks. Under the Freedom of
Information Act, the Associated Press gained access to
the FDA database of adverse drug reports to investigate
Ortho Evra side effects. They discovered nearly 10,000
reports of Ortho Evra side effects logged by the FDA in
a 17-month period.
At
least 23 deaths have been linked to possible vascular
Ortho Evra side effects. Seventeen of these deaths have
been caused by blood clot complications like pulmonary
embolism and subarachnoid hemorrhage. The majority of
women who have suffered from fatal Ortho Evra side
effects were young and healthy women with no history of
vascular medical conditions. If you would like to learn
more about Ortho Evra side effects, please contact us to
speak with a qualified and experienced
attorney.
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