Information About Each Paragard IUD Injury Claim To Be Provided on Plaintiff Fact Sheets

The U.S. Judge presiding over all federal Paragard IUD injury lawsuits has ordered each individual pursuing a claim to submit a Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS), providing case-specific information about the problems they experienced due to use of the birth control device.

There are currently about 1,200 product liability lawsuits pending against makers of the Paragard IUD birth control implant, each involving similar allegations that women suffered painful and debilitating injuries when the small plastic device fractured as doctors attempted to remove it, often resulting in the need for emergency surgery to retrieve pieces of the IUD, which may cause severe internal injuries.

The Paragard IUD is small plastic device wrapped in copper, which is placed in the uterus to provide women long-acting protection against pregnancy for up to ten years. Although, the procedure is marketed as safe and reversible, allowing doctors to remove the IUD during an out-patient office procedure when women no longer want the birth control, lawsuits allege that the product is defective and prone to break during removal.

Given common questions of fact and law raised in complaints filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide, consolidated pretrial proceedings were established in December 2020, transferring all pending and new cases filed throughout the federal court system to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings before Judge Leigh Martin.

On July 7, Judge May issued a case management order (PDF) which gives all individuals who have already filed a claim 120 days to complete a Plaintiff Fact Sheet (PFS). Plaintiffs who file new Paragard IUD injury claims in the future will have 120 days from the date the complaint is filed to provide the same information.

Plaintiff Fact Sheets are commonly used in complex mass tort litigation, where large numbers of individuals are pursuing claims against the makers of the same product, involving similar injuries or claims. The Paragard IUD claim fact sheet requests details about each of the plaintiffs, including information about the placement and removal of Paragard, alleged injuries experienced, and the impact the problems had on their overall health.

Judge May indicates that Plaintiffs may request a one-time extension, not to exceed 30 days, to serve a completed PFS in the litigation.

Gathering case-specific information about each Paragard IUD injury claim is the next step in the coordinated pretrial proceedings, and will allow the parties to select representative cases for a “bellwether” process, where a smaller group of lawsuits will be prepared for early trial dates.

While the outcome for these early trials would not be binding on other plaintiffs, they may facilitate negotiations to reach Paragard IUD settlements that resolve the litigation and avoid the need for hundreds of cases to go before federal juries nationwide in future years.