Update on Yaz & Yasmin Litigation: Parties Ordered to Mediation December 31, 2011

Popular birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin have been found to cause serious adverse events in patients, including blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, and even death. Thousands of women injured by these drugs across the United States have brought lawsuits against the drugs’ maker Bayer.
Many of the cases were consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois to streamline the litigation process. A trial against the drug maker had been scheduled for January 9th, but U.S. District Judge David Herndon ordered the parties to attend mediation first to try to settle.
Judge Herndon ordered the parties to participate in the mediation in good faith, and warned that if they don’t act in good faith, he will remand the cases to the original districts in which the suits were filed.

If in good faith the parties fail to mediate, the trial will resume on April 30th. 
Controversy Surrounds Expert Witness
Former Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David Kessler was to provide an expert opinion in the Yaz and Yasmin cases. He says that the recent Yaz Panel held by the FDA to determine the safety of Bayer drugs was compromised by members who had ties, some financial, to Bayer.
Bayer’s attorney moved to exclude Kessler’s expert opinion, arguing his position is mere speculation and that as a former commissioner, he cannot second guess the decisions made by the FDA.
Several consumer advocacy groups have called on the FDA to convene another panel and re-vote on the drugs because of the conflicts of interest of some of the original panel experts. The FDA has not said whether a new panel will be called.
Keep up-to-date on the latest news in Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits at www.vanweylaw.com.