In January of this year, a judge in Bergen County, NJ threw out four Mirena lawsuits filed against Bayer Healthcare ruling that the women were too late in filing. One of the reasons why the claims were thrown out is that the Statute of Limitations varies from state to state.
In New York where multi-district cases have been consolidated, California’s short, two year SOL was the reason for 17 Mirena lawsuits to be dismissed in 2014. An additional 12 cases in Louisiana were also dismissed citing a triggering of the SOL earlier than claimed by the plaintiffs. Two other cases were dismissed under the SOL of Oklahoma and Ohio respectively. Details of the cases can be read here.
Again in New York in December of 2015, a federal judge dismissed 10 claims in multi-district litigation, ruling that three cases were filed too late and seven had not submitted fact sheets within the required 60 days of filing. Importantly the decision was based on a July 2014 decision that the SOL starts when the plaintiff first discovers her injuries as opposed to when the IUD was removed. One plaintiff in the MDL did not file until she saw a commercial in 2013 about Mirena lawsuits, despite the fact that she had the device removed in 2007. Another discovered that her Mirena had migrated outside her uterus in an April 2011 x-ray but did not file until May of 2013, one month late under the SOL of Georgia.
Mirena Lawsuit Plaintiff’s Attorneys Fighting Back
The plaintiff’s attorneys in the dismissed cases responded with the argument that the Mirena SOL should begin when the women first discovered that the alleged actions of Bayer caused their injuries and not when their injuries were first discovered. In a letter to the court, the plaintiff’s attorneys argued that the injuries were possibly the result of Bayer’s actions. The lower courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs ruling that the women were not necessarily aware of Bayer’s fault in their case – a reason to overturn Bayer’s motion for dismissal. .
The next court proceeding in the MDL against Bayer is scheduled for March 8, 2016 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Find an Attorney and File Right Away
Any woman who has been injured by the use of the Mirena IUD should not wait to contact a personal injury attorney who specializes in defective drugs to file a case on her behalf. The statute of limitations of the state where the IUD was inserted applies in each case regardless of where the case in being heard. Only an attorney who is very familiar with the technicalities of these types of cases is qualified to represent you. You do not want to risk having the time run out.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
800 North Belcher Road
Clearwater, FL 33765
(833) 606-DRUG [3784]
