Women who rely on Depo-Provera for birth control are now filing dangerous drug lawsuits against the medication’s manufacturer, Pfizer.
The reason? A study in Europe has linked Depo-Provera, an injectable medicine recognized by many as “the birth control shot,” with intracranial meningiomas. These tumors can develop in the layers of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord known as a person’s meninges.
Headaches, hearing loss, muscle weakness, and seizures are all symptoms of meningiomas. Although they are often benign and slow-growing, there is potential for this type of tumor to cause undue pressure along nerves and blood vessels. A further injury can occur and surgery could be required.
In March of 2024, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) published the study which included data gathered from the medical information of thousands of women. The study concluded that women who used Depo-Provera for an extended period were at five times greater risk of developing a meningioma.
Soon after the study was released, Pfizer officials updated the Depo-Provera warning label to reflect the potential risk of tumors in the European Union and the United Kingdom. However, its United States operations did not add such a warning, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet required the new information to be put on labels.
Women Taking Action Through Lawsuits
By the fall of 2024, courts across the U.S. began seeing Depo-Provera lawsuits against Pfizer, with the first filed in October by a California woman who had undergone brain surgery. She had relied on the Depo-Provera injections for 20 years.
Since then, dozens more have come forward, with plaintiffs alleging that the manufacturer failed to warn them of the risk of developing the tumors while knowing (or that they should have known) the risk when the product was used as intended.
With the number of lawsuits growing, Depo-Provera cases are expected to be consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL) for one judge to hear in a federal court. The final decision on whether and where that will happen is still pending.
A Look at Depo-Provera Birth Control Shots
Depo-Provera’s main ingredient is medroxyprogesterone acetate, and the medication is one of several birth control methods relying on progestin, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone. The user receives an injection every three months to suppress ovulation and prevent a fertilized egg from being implanted.
Although it does not include a warning for intracranial meningiomas on its U.S. Depo-Provera product, Pfizer does include a warning concerning bone loss. Pfizer warns of the potential risk of calcium loss from bones, a decrease in bone mass, especially with prolonged use (over two years), and an increased risk of osteoporosis and broken bones.
The manufacturer also notes that Depo-Provera does not protect against sexually transmitted infections and that there is a potential for a delay in fertility. According to Pfizer, it can take one or two years to get pregnant after stopping this medication.
Depo-Provera Study Numbers
The BMJ article explains that researchers believe the study was warranted due to a growing concern about birth control medications containing certain progestogens and their potential link to meningiomas.
The researchers analyzed information from the National Health Data System in France, focusing on 18,061 women who had undergone surgery for intracranial meningioma between 2009 and 2018. They examined their use of birth control and the use of methods containing progestogens, including medroxyprogesterone acetate (the one found in the Depo-Provera injection).
According to the BMJ, the data specifically revealed that: “prolonged use of medroxyprogesterone acetate injection was associated with a 5.6-fold increased risk (of meningiomas).”
While researchers additionally noted that in the comparisons of the different birth control medications, there appeared to be “no such risk for less than one year of use of these progestogens,” they did stress further concern over products like Depo-Provera saying “given that medroxyprogesterone acetate is estimated to be used for birth control by 74 million women worldwide, the number of attributable meningiomas may be potentially high.”
Legal Options for Depo-Provera Injuries
Countless women in the U.S. have depended on Depo-Provera to prevent pregnancy and trusted Pfizer to produce not only an effective birth control shot but also a safe product. Yet, meningiomas have impacted many due to the manufacturer’s shortcomings and negligence.
Those who took Depo-Provera and suffered from an intracranial meningioma, through no fault of their own, have been forced to handle the physical ramifications of the tumors ranging from nausea and dizziness to headaches and severe muscle weakness.
Along with affecting their physical health, these types of tumors may have caused them to suffer emotionally and financially as well.
If you or someone you know developed a meningioma and had at least two doses of Depo-Provera birth control shots, you should consider reaching out to an experienced lawyer concerning a Depo-Provera lawsuit.
A dangerous drug lawyer can support victims on their road to recovery while fighting for them to receive fair compensation for their injuries.
For more information on legal options for Depo-Provera injuries, contact Childers, Schlueter & Smith at 1-800-641-0098 or visit us online to schedule a free case consultation.
