Canadian women sign on to lawsuits around permanent birth-control Essure

Essure was marketed as a safer alternative to tubal ligation, offering permanent birth control to women. And about 10,000 Canadian women had it implanted in their bodies. But now hundreds of women are signing on to a class action lawsuit and a mass tort against Bayer, which made the device. The device consisted of two metal coils that were implanted into the Fallopian tubes, creating scar tissue that would prevent sperm from reaching the eggs. it went off the market in 2017, thanks to declining demand, Bayer told CBC News. Howie, Sacks and Henry LLP, a Toronto-based law firm, told CBC News that nearly 150 plaintiffs have signed on to a mass tort about Essure—which is similar to a class action lawsuit, except victims can be given different compensation based on their experiences. All 150 women had a partial or full hysterectomy. Read: Indigenous mother proposes class action lawsuit on birth alerts in Manitoba “These women’s lives have been devastated and what we believe to be the case is that there were adverse effects of the coils that Bayer was aware of and was not necessarily reporting to Health Canada,” Renée Vinett, a partner at Howie, Sacks and Henry. “So doctors didn’t necessarily have all the information when they were recommending Essure about these complications that were coming up.” In an emailed statement to CBC News, Bayer said a large body of research was conducted by the company and independently shows “that [Essure’s] safety profile is comparable to other female permanent birth control options.” Studies have shown women with Essure have fewer reported problems with pelvic pain than women who had tubal ligation, the statement added. Read: B.C. changes opioid lawsuit to help recover more money from drug makers One of the women part of the tort, Tracy Hillier of Newfoundland and Labrador, told the CBC News about how she she experienced severe pain, bleeding and vomiting immediately after she had Essure inserted. She said she was still bleeding and feeling “absolutely miserable” three months after the procedure—and spent the next seven years searching for an answer to why she continued to be so sick. She eventually became so ill that her hair began to fall out, and she was diagnosed with superior limbic keratoconjunctivitis. After watching the Netflix documentary The Bleeding Edge, which covers issues with medical technology, including Essure, she went to Texas and spent $18,000 to get the coils out. They had to remove her Fallopian tubes, cervix and uterus, but said her intense pain ended as soon as they came out. “I lost seven full years of my life,” Hillier said. “I feel like my 30s were taken from me because I was always sick with something that was not explainable for someone who was young and healthy.” Read: B.C. pharmacist who reused syringe barrel suspended for one year A class action lawsuit has also been launched by Merchant Law Group. It says 500 women have signed on so far. Lawsuits in the U.S. around Essure were settled in August 2020 for US$1.6 billion, but the company did not admit to any wrongdoing or liability. In the email to CBC News, Bayer said it “believes that it has meritorious defences and intends to defend itself vigorously during litigation” and does not intend to settle the Canadian lawsuits. Read: Pharmacist who left Canada amid a $7.7-million fraudulent claims lawsuit gets licence yanked

Canadian women sign on to lawsuits around permanent birth-control Essure

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