Massive Birth Control Recall

Are You at Risk?

Like most pharmaceuticals they have hard to pronounce names: Lo/Ovral, generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol. They all are designed to do one thing: stop pregnancy.

Last Tuesday, Pfizer, the manufacturer of all these contraceptive medications announced the recall of one million packets of birth control pills because there was some packaging error that rendered them useless as contraceptives. As can be imagined, confusion, panic and pregnancies are widely predicted. Hot on the heels of that has come a new term: “wrongful pregnancy”. These cases could amount to medical malpractice. It is one of the largest such recalls in history.

First Things First

The drug company issued the order after finding that some packages had too many active tablets, while others had too few.

First things first: Make sure you are actually taking the oral contraceptive that’s been recalled: Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and generic norgestrel and ethinyl estradiol tablets.

The affected packets have expiration dates between July 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014.

Still not sure? Call your pharmacist. He or she can help you ascertain whether your pill pack is affected.

Pfizer has recalled 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. That’s one million doses. It was discovered that the pills were packed “wrongly.” The error showed that some packets had too many active tablets and some had less than the desired number. The use of packets with the wrong number of active tablets can lead to women becoming unwittingly pregnant. If you have been taking these defective pharmaceuticals and have an unwanted pregnancy, then it is in your best interest to contact a personal injury attorney as quickly as possible.

To its credit, Pfizer went out right away to address consumers directly through public media. It cautioned women to use alternate contraceptive methods because they were at greater risk of becoming pregnant.

Despite the quick address and a candid public announcement, the harm was already done. The pills had been sold and consumed. The question now is: Has anyone gotten pregnant because of an inadequate dose of the active contraceptive ingredient in the faulty packet?. And if anyone did, is there interest in pursuing a wrongful pregnancy charge? Additionally, what are the list of charges that can be brought against Pfizer and how much can be demanded in damages.

There is precedence: Similar cases have allowed people to sue for things like unwanted pregnancies after botched vasectomies in men. In the past, there has even been a case in which a woman successfully sued a pharmacist for a pregnancy that resulted from errors in filling the woman’s birth control prescriptions. A class action lawsuit could be in the making.

Consider: The cost of raising a child to age 18 in the US has been calculated to be $226,920. This does not even begin to address personal time, effort and sacrifice on the part of the mother.

Pfizer claimed that the ‘defective’ birth control pills posed “no health threat to women,” but people would not call an unplanned pregnancy a mere health threat, but a lot more than that. “It is truly a life changing situation.”, stated a very concerned John Bisnar, principle at Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys.

If you are currently on birth control pills, please check below from the FDA to see if your birth control pills are subject to the recall:

Half of the packets were from 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and the other half were 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. These recalled birth control pills were packaged in blister packs containing 21 active tablets and seven inactive tablets. They were manufactured by Pfizer and then sold under the Akrimax Pharmaceuticals brand. The recalled birth control pills were distributed to retail pharmacies, warehouses, and clinics around the United States.

It has been recommended that women must determine if they have the recalled birth control pills and then ensure they are not pregnant if signs or symptoms of pregnancy are showing. Women who have taken these recalled birth control pills should also contact their health care provider immediately and switch to a non-hormonal form of contraception. They also need to return the defective product to the pharmacy.

Do not assume that just because your pill brand has been recalled that you are pregnant. Don’t jump to conclusions and assume you need Plan B or the morning after pill, which works to prevent pregnancy within the window of 72 hours. You may not need it, so talk to your doctor.

It is recommended that you call your ob-gyn at once to make an appointment. Amongst other questions, your doctor will want to know your pill history, when your last period was and how you’re feeling.

If your doctor can’t see you right away for an exam, make an appointment and head to the drugstore to buy a pregnancy test.

If your result is negative, your doctor will likely tell you to come in for an exam and advise you to use condoms or another form of non-hormonal birth control until you start a new pack of prescribed pills.

If your pregnancy test comes back positive, it’s extra important that you make an appointment right away. But this time, you need to come to us – the personal injury attorneys at Bisnar Chase Personal Injury Attorneys.