New Law to Make Way for Essure Lawsuits

Thousands of women across the country have come forward about Essure birth control devices, which they say have caused them serious health issues. But, so far, they haven’t been able to sue the manufacturer of Essure because of the manner in which the device was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Now, that’s about to change. And the call for this change is coming from the members of the U.S. Congress.

Lawmakers say it’s crazy that a corporation can’t be held liable when its product is dangerous, particularly when the product we’re talking about is a medical device that is implanted into women’s bodies that has been causing serious complications or even deaths. The women who have been complaining about Essure problems for years among themselves and even on social media sites like Facebook, couldn’t agree more with legislators.

The Dangers of Essure

For several years now, women have been trying to warn others about the dangers of Essure, a birth control device made up of coils, which is then implanted into a woman’s fallopian tubes. Scar tissue forms and creates a natural barrier in the fallopian tubes preventing sperm from reaching the eggs. It takes about three months for the scar tissue to form. Essure is marketed by Bayer as a form of permanent birth control.

However, tens of thousands of women maintain that Essure is not only giving them horrible side effects, but is also not proving to be a reliable method of birth control. Many women who got Essure reported unintended pregnancies including ectopic pregnancies. Thousands of women have reported other severe symptoms include pelvic pain; migration or movement of Essure inserts through the fallopian tubes into the lower abdomen and pelvis; obesity; rash or itching linked to possible nickel allergy; and perforation or puncturing of the uterus or fallopian tubes.

How the New Law Will Help

When the FDA approved Essure, it gave the makers of the device something called “preemption status.” This means the company cannot be sued for problems caused by the device. The legislation, if passed by Congress, will remove this preemption, which means the company can be sued for the problems caused by the device. The law will also change the way all medical devices are reviewed so victims will have the right to sue over devices that are dangerous and defective.

The defective medical device attorneys at Bisnar Chase strongly believe that this legislation is going to open a lot of doors for victims of defective products to pursue justice. It was ridiculous for women whose lives were ruined by Essure to have suffered in silence for so long. And the wonderful thing about this legislation is that it will not just apply to Essure, but all medical devices. Hopefully, we are closer to a future where manufacturers of defective medical devices can no longer hide behind the privilege of a preemption status.