It is not something new that you hear some complication or something going wrong with birth control devices and IUDs, right? Well, this Nexplanon Lawsuit is actually of a similar nature, but in reality, there are so many complaints regarding all this in recent times that you can even forget the country. But it all isn’t just about the problem with the device itself, nah, many of these legal complaints are against the medical professionals who caused the injuries while working with Nexplanon. Here:
Why Did People Start Suing Over Nexplanon?
Before we get to the point where we talk about the real issue, let’s first see what this Nexplanon thing really is. So, shortly and simply put, it is just a tiny device which works as a hormone-releasing birth control rod, and it was first made and introduced by Organon USA Inc., a Merck & Co subsidiary. It went through FDA approval in 2011 as a new and improved version of an older one called Implanon.
It is actually the case that for the majority of people, the device does what it is supposed to do, you know, it just remains under the skin of your upper arm and exudes hormones to prevent pregnancy. But the real issue started when a few users of this started to see some side effects, and the crazy thing is, nobody warned them about it, not even the company that made it. And we aren’t talking about some small inconveniences, nah, these were kinda severe, like blood clots, migration of the implant, and even nerve damage caused by improper insertion or removal.
What Exactly Are the Lawsuits Claiming So Far, and How Serious Things Really Are?
Alrighty, let’s say you don’t know much about it all yet, so let’s make it super simple for you to understand why there is so much backlash against Nexplanon. Shall we? Here:
1. Product issues: The basic and biggest thing being alleged or claimed here is that Nexplanon users, in some cases, have complained that it was a faulty product or that there were no warnings whatsoever regarding this. If they had known about the side effects being as serious as blood clots, strokes, or pulmonary embolisms, they would not have gone ahead with it. And in some studies as well, this clearly came out (that was back in 2012, though) that there was a correlation between hormone implants and clotting problems. That’s just not it, even the FDA warned about it all back in 2015.
2. Medical mistakes: And it is not just the actual side effect issue with this device, nah, it also has to do with the way it was handled by the medical professionals. Like when placing it or taking out the actual device. Talking about serious medical mistakes, there were some complaints where, while placing it, the needle went so deep that it hit the nerve, misplace the device, and in some cases, it became super hard to actually remove it.
3. Informed consent: And the biggest concern of all these lawsuits and legal complaints coming up is that all the users weren’t informed properly about the possibilities, like the risks being there, and that was the big mistake of the makers. If the users had known the risks before, they could have been better prepared for the side effects and everything that went wrong.
What Do the Settlements Look Like?
And it is also true that a number of these cases have actually reached a settlement, but have you heard about that yet?
See, first of all, most of the cases turned out to be successfully settled when particular injuries were involved, rather than the general usage. For instance:
- A big example would be a South Carolina woman who was compensated with approximately $600,000 after she suffered permanent nerve damage from an incorrectly placed Botox injection.
- Another story is floating around where another patient was paid more than $500,000 for similar complications.
- And just like that, you can find other settlements, depending on the medical bills and long-term effects, that have reached six figures, on the internet.
