22-year old Rachel Cook of Jackson, MO, began experiencing chest pains several months after her doctor prescribed the Ortho Evra birth control patch. The pains became so severe that she required three rounds of hospitalization. Her doctors took her off the patch, blaming the blood clots on her use of the patch, which is manufactured by Ortho-McNeil. Now Ms. Cook has brought a personal injury lawsuit against the company for failing to warn consumers of the danger of blood clots and strokes when using the patch.

The Ortho Evra patch was approved in 2001 but Ortho-McNeil was forced to update its labeling in November 2005 to include warnings that the product exposes women to higher levels of estrogen than most birth control pills. Users of the Ortho Evra patch are exposed to about 60 percent more estrogen in their blood than if they were taking a birth control pill. Any time a woman has an increased estrogen level, her risk of blood clots is greatly increased.

Source: Jennifer Freeze, “Health issues from birth control patch spark lawsuits from local women,” Southeast Missourian, January 31, 2006.