Depo-Provera, an injectable female contraceptive manufactured by Pfizer, has been correlated for years with potential bone density loss in addition to a host of other hormone-related complications. In 2024, new evidence came to light indicating that the long-term use of this drug also increased patients’ risk of developing meningiomas, or tumors in the meninges membranes around the spinal cord and brains. The first lawsuit against Pfizer over this undisclosed risk associated with their drug was filled in October of that same year.
If you were recently diagnosed with a meningioma and believe it may be linked to your use of Depo-Provera over the past several years, you may have grounds to join forces with hundreds of other people harmed in this same way and pursue compensation from this medication’s manufacturer. However, if you want to enforce your civil rights as effectively as possible, you will want to first seek the help of a qualified Depo-Provera lawyer from Phillips Law Group.
The Connection Between Depo-Provera and Brain Tumors
In early 2024, French researchers released a national case-control study focused on women in France who received intracranial surgery from 2009 to 2018. The study involved more than 108,000 women, over 18,000 of whom had surgery to treat meningiomas, and found that women who used various progestogens—including medroxyprogesterone acetate, sold by Pfizer under the brand name Depo-Provera as a birth control medication—for at least one year were 5.6 times more likely to develop meningiomas requiring surgery compared to a control group.
Meningiomas linked to Depo-Provera use are generally benign and will not spread to other parts of the body, although they can still grow very large and potentially cause serious damage by compressing the brain and/or spinal cord. However, a small percentage of meningiomas are malignant, cancerous, and can spread rapidly through the body to cause life-changing and often life-threatening harm.
Litigation Over Meningiomas Linked to Depo-Provera Use
In response to the release of the study described above, Pfizer updated the prescribing guidelines sent out to physicians to note this potential link between Depo-Provera use and the development of meningiomas, but failed to update the customer-facing warning labels on Depo-Provera packaging at the same time. More importantly, the corporation failed to conduct sufficient research of their own in order to discover and warn consumers about this possible side effect of their medication before releasing it for public sale.
Several lawsuits have already been filed against Pfizer over meningiomas diagnoses related to Depo-Provera use, and as of December 2024, oral arguments for a multidistrict litigation (MDL) motion are scheduled to be heard by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in Miami, Florida in late January. Anyone who wants to explore their own options for seeking compensation over this type of harm should reach out to a seasoned attorney as soon as possible, so they can react quickly to whatever developments occur once the Panel meets.
Talk to a Qualified Attorney About a Possible Depo-Provera Lawsuit
Even though there is an increasing amount of medical evidence linking complications of meningiomas to Depo-Provera, all that research will not be enough to build a civil claim around on its own. If you want to recover fairly for the harm this medication has caused you, you will need substantial evidence connecting your specific condition to your use of this drug, as well as a great deal of legal knowledge and expertise that few people are prepared to demonstrate on their own.
Phillips Law Group has been helping people much like you through cases much like yours for more than 30 years, and we are not afraid of taking cases to trial or of taking on massive corporations like Pfizer in order to get you paid what you deserve. Call today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a member of our team and discuss what legal options are available to you.
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