The lawsuits claimed that Johnson & Johnson knew about higher levels of estrogen released by the Ortho Evra patch but failed to warn users that they could be at higher risk to suffer blood clots and other adverse side effects than women who use other forms of oral birth control such as the pill.
A lead plaintiff attorney told Bloomberg News that, as of March 31, 2008 a fund has paid out just over $2 million to settle several hundred cases.
July 17th, 2005, the Associated Press International (API) reported that they were aware of at least a dozen women, most in their late teens and twenties who died in 2004 due to blood clots that are believed to be related to the use of the Ortho Evra Patch. According to 16,000 federal drug reports filed with the FDA, dozens more women survived strokes and other blood-clot related side effects In fact, API found 23 different fatalities associated with the patch, but the primary cause of death in each case was not always clear.
Some people suspect that there are many more deaths related to Ortho Evra but that aren't reported as such because coroners or doctors are not considering the effect of birth control in the fatal or near-fatal event, so they are not reporting all cases to the government.
These cases are incredible tragedies for the victims and their families. In one case, a 25 year old woman had a stroke and was placed in the Intensive Care Unit, where her condition was so fragile that her family was unable to speak or touch her in any way because even the slightest amount of stimulation could create a fatal level of pressure on her brain.
After the death of this beloved sister, daughter and wife, the coroner stated that her headaches and stroke may have been side effects of the high hormone levels in Ortho-Evra. In March 2004, a young woman from New York died after being on the patch six weeks. A 17-year-old St. Louis girl using Ortho-Evra died from a pulmonary embolism which is a deadly blood clot.
Young women are typically at low risk for blood clots and strokes, but with the use of Ortho Evra, these young women are having strokes, heart attacks and even dying at increased rates.
Ortho Evra Warning Signs
It is alleged that the FDA and the drug maker saw warning signs of problems with the Ortho-Evra patch before it was approved for the general market. Both entities maintain that the medication is as safe as any other pill-form birth control. However, a study with 800,000 women in 2004 showed that using the birth control patch increased the risk of dying or suffering a blood clot three times more than regular birth control pills.
Unaware of the risks, doctors prescribe medications with little thought. It's an unfortunate reality that many doctors are incentivized to prescribe brand name medications; they are legally paid what is essentially the equivalent of sales commissions or receive other incentives such as lunches, parties, clip boards, note pads, and more. These financial incentives bring up a plethora of ethical and liability issues.
Ortho Changes Label
In November 2005, Ortho McNeil, the makers of Ortho Evra , revised the birth control warning label to include additional risks and side effects:
"Most side effects of the Patch are not serious and those that are, occur infrequently. Serious risks, which can be life threatening, include blood clots, stroke and heart attacks and are increased if you smoke cigarettes."
Women using the Ortho Evra Patch are "exposed to about 60% more estrogen if they use ORTHO EVRA than if they use a typical birth control pill containing 35 micrograms of estrogen. In general, increased estrogen exposure increases the risk of side effects."
These changes to the label do little to warn women and their doctors of the potential risk of dying while using the Ortho Evra birth control patch.
Ortho Evra was the first contraceptive patch approved in 2002 by the FDA for Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals under the giant company Johnson and Johnson. Ortho Evra and other birth control methods for these pharmaceutical companies generates over $1 billion in annual sales.
Ortho Evra Patch Legal Help
If you have or a loved on has suffered from blood clots, heart attack or stroke, while using Ortho Evra, you may qualify for damages or remedies that may be awarded in an Ortho Evra class action or lawsuit. Please click the link below to submit your complaint to an Ortho Evra lawyer for a free case evaluation.
Last updated on Sep-15-09
Washington, DC: In 2004 Susan started wearing the Ortho Evra patch. She was 18 at the time and was prescribed the patch to help control migraines; her doctor thought she had a hormone imbalance. Her doctor didn't think that the patch would almost kill her… [ 
In July 2005, a study released by the Food and Drug Administration showed that users of the Ortho Evra birth control patch were three times more likely than users of the pill to develop blood clots, which can lead to more serious Ortho Evra side effects and can be fatal. So why is the Patch still in the marketplace? [ 
Odessa, TX: This is likely not what the makers of the Ortho Evra patch had in mind when they developed the birth control patch: women suffering life-threatening complications and a string of lawsuits alleging the company put women's lives at risk. Yet that is what has happened. Lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed claiming that the Ortho Evra birth control patch caused blood clots and other serious conditions in women whose only goal was to avoid a pregnancy. [ 
