May 2, 2007, 10:30:00AM. By Heidi Turner

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Columbus, Ohio: The Supreme Court of Ohio heard a case involving Ortho Evra birth control patches, but a much larger issue is at stake. Lawyers for the plaintiff, who was injured after using Ortho Evra, are arguing that an Ohio law that caps pain and suffering awards violates the injured party's constitutional rights.

The plaintiff, Melisa Arbino, filed a lawsuit claiming that her use of Ortho Evra caused permanent physical damage, life-threatening blood clots, and may result in an inability to have children. Arbino first used the patch in 2005 after the birth of her son. She says that within days she suffered from severe headaches and vomiting and was hospitalized with a blood clot on her brain. Two weeks later she was again hospitalized, this time with blood clots in her lungs. She still has a blood clot in her brain and will be required to take blood thinners if she ever becomes pregnant again.

Currently, pain and suffering awards in Ohio are limited to between $350,000 and $500,000 for less severe injuries. The same bill has limits on jury awards that are meant to punish companies for faulty products.

"The fundamental rights to trial by jury includes the right for the individual to be fully compensated and made whole," a lawyer for the plaintiff said in court. "What the Legislature is saying is we're going to take that right for you to be made whole and we're going to prejudge your case."

Other groups also support the plaintiff's argument against pain and suffering caps. Among them are the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Ohio Conference of the NAACP and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Ortho Evra is a birth control patch manufactured by Ortho McNeil, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. It works by releasing norelgestromin (a progestin hormone) and ethinyl estradiol (an estrogen hormone) through the skin and into the blood stream to prevent pregnancy. The Ortho Evra patch consists of three layers and is worn continuously for one week.

In 2005 Ortho McNeil released a public warning that the patch exposes women to high amounts of estrogen and could have a higher risk of developing blood clots. This followed the 2004 death of an 18-year-old who died from a blood clot after using the Ortho Evra patch. Women who use the Ortho Evra patch are exposed to 60% more estrogen than women on typical birth-control pills.

At least 500 lawsuits have been filed against Johnson & Johnson claiming that the company did not adequately test the patch's safety before releasing it on the market and that it downplayed the risk of blood clots. The company has settled some lawsuits but details have not been released.

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