Bayer sued over injuries allegedly caused by Mirena birth control system

An Arizona woman is suing drugmaker Bayer over claims that the defendant’s birth

control system Mirena caused her to sustain serious bodily injuries.

Cynthia Solano asserts in her civil action, which was filed at the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on March 25, that the Mirena that she had had inserted into her body in late January 2011 ended up perforating her uterus and becoming embedded in her body.

During multiple prior doctor visits, the plaintiff claims she had been assured that the device was properly implanted inside of her, yet she continued to suffer from cramping, pain and spotting, according to the complaint.

The day after she visited her doctor in early December of last year, Solano vomited and ended up having to go to the hospital for treatment, where a CT scan revealed that the Mirena had caused problems in her body.

While hospitalized, Solano was diagnosed with renal failure and a slow heartbeat, the suit states.

The plaintiff alleges she also suffered from emotional distress after the hospital denied admittance to her son for a visitation, since the plaintiff doesn’t technically have legal guardianship over the boy.

As for her physical state, Solano claims she has had persistent neck pain and limited mobility since her surgery, as well as continued abdominal pain, heavy menstrual bleeding and severe cramping.

“The long-term consequences of these injuries on Ms. Solano’s health are unknown at this time, which is a source of great anxiety for her,” the lawsuit states. “Additionally, Ms. Solano has significant out-of-pocket expenses for medical coverage and other costs associated with her Mirena-related problems.”

Solano, the complaint reads, required short-term disability leave from her job, and due to the loss of income from not working as a result of her injuries, she has had to take money out of her 401K account “in a thus far fruitless attempt to pay her bills.”

“As a single parent to two young children, she and her family were dependent on a friend for care in the post-operative period,” the suit states.

The product liability complaint accuses Bayer of improperly designing, developing, manufacturing, testing, marketing, promoting, distributing, advertising and selling Mirena, which is known as an intrauterine device that the suit calls “dangerous and defective in certain patients.”

The complaint claims that Mirena can perforate the uterus and migrate into other parts of the body, something that requires surgical intervention for correction.

“Contrary to Bayer’s representations about a host of benefits of using Mirena, the Product is not safe and simple ..,” the suit reads.

The individual defendants named in the lawsuit are Bayer Corp., Bayer Healthcare LLC, Bayer Pharmaceuticals Corp., Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals Inc., Berlex Laboratories Inc., Berlex Inc., Bayer AG and Bayer OY.

The lawsuit contains counts of failure to warn and instruct, negligence, negligence per se, breach of implied and express warranties, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent misrepresentation, fraud by concealment, defective manufacturing, design defect, unjust enrichment, and strict liability.

The plaintiff demands judgment against the defendants in the form of unspecified compensatory damages, disgorgement of profits, statutory damages, attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment interest and litigation costs.

The suit was filed by New York attorney Wendy R. Fleishman of the firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP.

The federal case number is 2:13-cv-01530-JP.