Johnson & Johnson Sued Over Ortho Evra Damage; Texas Woman Says Drug Caused Life-Threatening Blood Clots, Miscarriage

FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- A Plano, Texas woman who suffered a miscarriage and developed potentially life-threatening blood clots after using the Ortho Evra(R) birth control patch has filed a federal lawsuit against drug manufacturing giant Johnson & Johnson in Marshall, Texas.

Elizabeth Barroso, now 24, began experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing after using Ortho Evra(R) for only three weeks in 2004. She spent eight days in the hospital, where doctors treated her for blood clots in her lungs. Ms. Barroso had no prior history of such problems.

After being released, Ms. Barroso was prescribed blood-thinning medication for 10 months. She became pregnant in October 2004, but later suffered a miscarriage. When she later became pregnant in 2005, Ms. Barroso was forced to endure daily self-injections of blood thinners to prevent another miscarriage. Due to her injuries from Ortho Evra(R), all of Ms. Barroso's future pregnancies will carry a risk of miscarriage and will require similar treatment.

"This young lady's life was put in jeopardy by a company that made a harmful product," says John David Hart of the Law Offices of John David Hart in Fort Worth, Texas. "And the tragic thing is the company continues to market and sell this product even today."

The case is the latest of many against Johnson & Johnson, which earlier this year settled other cases involving Ortho Evra(R) and the development of blood clots.

The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, says the package insert that came with Ortho Evra(R) was misleading and in direct conflict with Johnson & Johnson's own data. The insert suggests the risk of blood clots among Ortho Evra(R) users is equivalent to that of women using oral contraceptives.

However, from April 2002 to December 2004, the company logged 27,974 adverse events among Ortho Evra(R) users. During that same time period, Johnson & Johnson noted only 5,571 adverse events for one of its oral contraceptives, even though it was used three times more than Ortho Evra(R).

The Law Offices of John David Hart is a group of experienced and dedicated legal professionals working to protect the rights of people injured by the acts of others. Across the country, the firm represents people in cases of catastrophic personal injury, wrongful death, medical negligence, automobile and truck accidents, workplace injuries and other matters. More information is available at http://www.hartlaw.com/ .

For more information on the case against Ortho Evra(R) and Johnson & Johnson, please call Mark Annick at 800-559-4534 or mark@legalpr.com .