Paragard IUD Claims and Lawsuits

The Paragard IUD is a long-term birth control that includes a copper wire coiled around a T-shaped plastic base. This device is inserted into a woman’s uterus by a physician. Once the device is implanted, it stops the fertilization of the egg by blocking sperm movement. If the sperm does reach the uterus, the device will create an inflammatory reaction which will prevent the egg from attaching.

Many women have already filed lawsuits against the medical device manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals and CooperSurgical. Teva Pharmaceuticals manufactured the Paragard T 380A, however, Teva sold the Paragard brand IUD to Cooper Companies (CooperSurgical) for $1.1 billion.

Teva Pharmaceuticals marketed this device as safe and easy to remove. Plaintiffs claim the device was incorrectly designed, poorly tested, and misrepresented to the public. Paragard lawsuits allege a dangerous design made the IUD prone to break, which frequently results in additional surgeries or procedures to remove copper fragments. Women are being forced to undergo multiple surgeries, with some being total hysterectomies that remove a woman’s ability to give birth to children in the future.

And to make matters even worse, the claims state the IUD developer knew the risk and withheld this information for years.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) originally approved the Paragard IUD in 1984. The FDA is supposed to protect consumers against faulty medical devices. The Paragard IUD is yet another example that shows FDA approval doesn’t guarantee that a medical device is safe. Sometimes new medical devices are created too fast and not enough testing is completed prior to sale.

If your Paragard claim is successful, the medical device manufacturer may be required to provide compensation for the following:

• Medical Expenses:  Compensation may cover past and future hospital bills, rehabilitation, transport services, and other expenses.
• Lost Wages: If you are unable to perform your job as a result of your medical issues, you may be able to collect compensation to recover the amount you would have made had you not been injured. If the medical complications are severe enough to require extensive care and leaves you permanently disabled, you may be entitled to compensation for future lost wages.
• Pain and Suffering: While money may not directly help you with emotional anguish caused by the medical device, it can pay for therapy, which may be needed to manage long-term illness.
• Punitive Damages: Punitive damages are considered punishment and are typically awarded at the court's discretion when the medical device manufacturer’s behavior is found to be especially harmful. In the case of the Paragard IUDs, punitive damages would align well with the cases where a hysterectomy stripped away a woman’s right to have children.