At a court hearing today, Judge Brian Martinotti in Hackensack said that Merck & Co could proceed to settle thousands of lawsuits filed against the company over the NuvaRing contraceptive's safety under one condition. Martinotti said that the settlement, which involved as many as 3,800 cases filed with federal and state courts in New Jersey and Missouri, will be approved as long as there are enough women who will agree to participate in the deal.
According to Steven Blau, a lawyer for women who have sued Merck & Co for the device, said that Martinotti handed out a preliminary approval, which will be subject to 95% of the plaintiffs who are taking part of the accord. Martinotti also said that should the number of plaintiffs refusing the offer is above 5%, Merck could walk away from the accord.
"The settlement is a fair resolution of this litigation. This is a lump-sum settlement of $100 million that covers the entire litigation nationwide."
Over 200 women had filed lawsuits against Merck in New Jersey on claims that the company was knowledgeable about the high risk of heart attack-inducing blood clots in NuvaRing and had sold products despite this knowledge. Bloomberg described NuvaRing as a hormonal-vaginal contraceptive which utilizes a combination of estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy in a ring. Despite a 2011 US Food and Drug Administration report detailing the product's high risk for blood clots, Merck had been selling the rings since 2011.
Bloomberg said that the settlement that would be paid by Merck, if ever, is only miniscule when compared to the amounts its bigger rivals such as Bayer AG doled out to settle lawsuits over their contraceptives. Last year, Bayer said it has paid over $1.6 billion in settlement claims over its birth-control pill lines, Yasmin and Yaz. The women in the lawsuits against Bayer claimed that the products caused blood clots, which could lead to heart attacks and strokes.
