Australian women launch lawsuit against birth control device Essure

A lawsuit against a contraceptive device that allegedly left women in severe pain has begun in Melbourne this week.

The lawsuit is underway in Victoria’s Supreme Court on behalf of hundreds of women who used the mechanical contraceptive they allege caused constant pain and bleeding.

Law firm Slater and Gordon claims the Essure device sold by Bayer also damaged their client’s health, allegedly failing to warn women of the product’s risk, as reported by 7NEWS.

Essure is a permanent contraceptive medical device for women consisting of a flexible metal coil placed inside each of the tubes to the ovaries.

The device was intended to promote the formation of scar tissue around it. The tissue would then block the tubes to the ovaries to prevent pregnancy.

The contraceptive was withdrawn from the UK market by the manufacturer in 2017 after it received complaints of side effects and complications in some women.

Slater and Gordon Class Actions Senior Associate, Kylie Trounson said: “Australian group members are frustrated that litigation in the US settled for very large sums of money, for the same device, while no settlement has occurred in the Australian proceeding.

“A large multinational entity like Bayer is of course entitled at law to defend litigation in Australia and elsewhere as it sees fit, however it is not just our clients who are impacted by the need to go to trial.

“There are also enormous costs to the taxpayer in respect of court resources being expended on this trial, which is expected to run for three months.”

Bayer says it stands by the safety and efficacy of its device and that women who currently have Essure in place may continue to confidently rely on the device.

“Reduced patient interest in permanent birth control options resulted in a commercial decision to discontinue the distribution of Essure,” a spokesperson told the Sydney Herald.

According to Forbes, in August 2020, Bayer entered into a US$1.6bn settlement to resolve most Essure claims. The settlement was expected to resolve around 90 per cent of the 39,000 cases that had been filed at the time.