NEW YORK, June 16 (UPI) -- Ortho-McNeil is facing a lawsuit brought by a plaintiff claiming injury from the firm's Ortho Evra contraceptive patch.
The New York-based law firm Parker & Waichman said it is suing Ortho-McNeil -- a division of Johnson & Johnson -- on behalf of a 37-year-old woman and her husband.
The plaintiff's complaint -- filed in a New Jersey District Court -- alleges she suffered a bilateral pulmonary embolism after using Ortho Evra for just over one year.
The plaintiff claims she suffered the injury June 17 of last year and had to be hospitalized.
"There is a strong likelihood that prolonged, or even permanent, treatment with blood thinners will be necessary," Parker & Waichman said in a statement.
In November 2005 Ortho McNeil and the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about an increased risk of blood clots associated with Ortho Evra, the firm noted.
"In the new warning, Ortho-McNeil admitted for the first time that women who use the patch will be exposed to up to 60 percent more estrogen than they would be exposed to if they were taking a birth control pill with 35 micrograms of estrogen. The patch is only intended to deliver 20 micrograms of estrogen," Parker & Waichman said.
