"In addition," the AP said, "an internal Ortho McNeil memo shows that the company refused, in 2003, to fund a study comparing its Ortho Evra patch to its Ortho-Cyclen pill because of concerns there was 'too high a chance that study may not produce a positive result for Evra' and there was a 'risk that Ortho Evra may be the same or worse than Ortho-Cyclen.'"
From that point on, lawsuits filed included this newly reported information.
In light of all the damaging stories in the press during the fall of 2005, critics say its not that difficult to figure out why Johnson & Johnson was in a rush to start settling cases in January 2006, but at the same time, they say, the stories also made many more women aware of the type of injuries that are associated with the patch.
While J&J may have settled 30 cases in January as reported by the media, any sense of relief was short-lived because on January 30, 2006, the Madison St Clair Record, reported that J&J had been hit with seven brand new federal lawsuits on January 23, 2006, in the Southern District of Illinois, each seeking damages in excess of $75,000.
And since January 2006, the steady filing of lawsuits has continued unabated, with each new case usually accompanied by a press release.
On May 12, 2006, Knight Ridder reported the case of 20-year-old nursing student, Kristin Ribakusky-Templin, who experienced what started as a dull ache in her leg that within two weeks turned into shooting pains leaving her unable to walk and sent her to the emergency room where doctors found multiple blood clots deep in the veins of her lungs and leg.
The culprit, the doctors told her later, was the birth control patch she had been dutifully sticking to her body once a week for less than two months.
"The patch is still on the market," Knight Ridder noted.
In New Jersey, where 37 cases have been filed, the articles states, "the stories are hauntingly similar: An otherwise healthy Georgia woman develops a pulmonary embolism; a Maine woman suffers from a blood clot in her right lung; a 12-year-old girl in Indiana is diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis, just like Ribakusky-Templin."
On May 18, 2006, a lawsuit was filed in New Jersey, on behalf of the family of a 17-year-old who suffered a stroke and died in August 2004 after using the Ortho Evra patch for approximately four months.
In a press release, an attorney from the firm handling the case said, "This is one of the saddest cases I've been involved with."
"This was a sweet 17 year old girl," he stated, "This shouldn't have happened and Johnson & Johnson and Ortho McNeil must be held accountable."
On September 5, 2006, a Drug Newswire press release reported the latest federal lawsuit filed in Texas by a 24-year-old woman who suffered a miscarriage and developed life-threatening blood clots after using the patch.
According to the lawsuit, in 2004, Elizabeth Barroso, began experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing after using the patch for three weeks and spent eight days in the hospital where doctors treated her for blood clots in her lungs.
Upon release from the hospital, Ms Barroso was placed on blood thinning drugs for 10 months. She became pregnant in October 2004, but later suffered a miscarriage.
In 2005, she became pregnant again and was forced to endure daily injections of blood thinners to prevent another miscarriage. Due to her injuries, all of Ms Barroso's future pregnancies will carry a risk of miscarriage and will require similar treatment.
From that point on, lawsuits filed included this newly reported information.
In light of all the damaging stories in the press during the fall of 2005, critics say its not that difficult to figure out why Johnson & Johnson was in a rush to start settling cases in January 2006, but at the same time, they say, the stories also made many more women aware of the type of injuries that are associated with the patch.
While J&J may have settled 30 cases in January as reported by the media, any sense of relief was short-lived because on January 30, 2006, the Madison St Clair Record, reported that J&J had been hit with seven brand new federal lawsuits on January 23, 2006, in the Southern District of Illinois, each seeking damages in excess of $75,000.
On May 12, 2006, Knight Ridder reported the case of 20-year-old nursing student, Kristin Ribakusky-Templin, who experienced what started as a dull ache in her leg that within two weeks turned into shooting pains leaving her unable to walk and sent her to the emergency room where doctors found multiple blood clots deep in the veins of her lungs and leg.
The culprit, the doctors told her later, was the birth control patch she had been dutifully sticking to her body once a week for less than two months.
"The patch is still on the market," Knight Ridder noted.
In New Jersey, where 37 cases have been filed, the articles states, "the stories are hauntingly similar: An otherwise healthy Georgia woman develops a pulmonary embolism; a Maine woman suffers from a blood clot in her right lung; a 12-year-old girl in Indiana is diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis, just like Ribakusky-Templin."
On May 18, 2006, a lawsuit was filed in New Jersey, on behalf of the family of a 17-year-old who suffered a stroke and died in August 2004 after using the Ortho Evra patch for approximately four months.
In a press release, an attorney from the firm handling the case said, "This is one of the saddest cases I've been involved with."
"This was a sweet 17 year old girl," he stated, "This shouldn't have happened and Johnson & Johnson and Ortho McNeil must be held accountable."
On September 5, 2006, a Drug Newswire press release reported the latest federal lawsuit filed in Texas by a 24-year-old woman who suffered a miscarriage and developed life-threatening blood clots after using the patch.
According to the lawsuit, in 2004, Elizabeth Barroso, began experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing after using the patch for three weeks and spent eight days in the hospital where doctors treated her for blood clots in her lungs.
Upon release from the hospital, Ms Barroso was placed on blood thinning drugs for 10 months. She became pregnant in October 2004, but later suffered a miscarriage.
In 2005, she became pregnant again and was forced to endure daily injections of blood thinners to prevent another miscarriage. Due to her injuries, all of Ms Barroso's future pregnancies will carry a risk of miscarriage and will require similar treatment.
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