Seven product liability suits have been filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Ortho-McNeil, maker of the Ortho Evra birth control patch, and its parent company, Johnson & Johnson, on behalf of seven women who suffered injury while wearing the patch.

Among the injuries suffered by the plaintiffs stated in the suits are:

• Multiple blood clots
• Excessive bleeding
• Heart pain
• Miscarriage

The plaintiffs seek class action status for the significant harm, conscious pain and suffering, physical injury and bodily impairment including permanent physical effects as a result of wearing a dangerous and defective product. The suit claims that Ortho-McNeil’s own clinical studies show a higher rate of venous thromboembolism in women on the patch compared to those using the pill, but the company concealed those side effects from the public.

Source: Steve Gonzalez, ” Women claim contraceptive didn’t come with blood clot warning,” Madison-St. Clair Record, January 30, 2006.