On Feb. 17, 2006, the manufacturer of the Ortho Evra patch cited company research in announcing that women who used the patch faced twice the risk of developing blood clots as those who took birth control pills.
Later, in January 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced changes to the label of the Ortho Evra patch following results of a new study that showed evidence of a risk for venous thromboembolism. That study found that women 15 to 44 years old who used the patch were at higher risk than were women taking birth control pills.
The first warning about the contraceptive was sounded in November 2005 in a statement by the FDA and the maker of the Ortho Evra birth control patch, Ortho Women’s Health, a unit of Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
That warning followed by several months a story by the Associated Press that women who used the patch develop blood clots and die at three times the rate of women taking a standard birth control pill. The AP, citing federal reports, said about a dozen young women died in 2004 from blood clots believed to be related to use of the Ortho Evra birth control patch.
While most birth control medicines contain the same amount of estrogen, patients using the patch have higher estrogen levels because the hormone is absorbed directly into the bloodstream while pills are swallowed and digested before they reach the bloodstream.
Kline & Specter, with more than 40 attorneys, five of whom are also highly regarded doctors, handled Ortho Evra cases and has broad expertise and experience in pursuing pharmaceutical injury claims. The law firm, based in Philadelphia and serving the Pennsylvania - New Jersey - Delaware region as well as clients nationwide, has produced superb results in a large number of personal injury cases.
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