The Paragard IUD: What You Need to Know about the Paragard Lawsuit
Do you use an IUD or an intrauterine device as a birth control mechanism? If so, how long have you had yours? If it is a Paragard Copper T IUD, are you aware of the possibility of serious injury should the device fail? Should you even worry about whether your IUD might fail or not?
All of these questions are valid and deserve a considered answer. Let’s start by describing an IUD and its function and purpose.
An intrauterine device: It’s function and purpose
Plannedparenthood.org defines an IUD as a “tiny device that’s put into your uterus to prevent pregnancy. It’s long-term, reversible, and one of the most effective birth control methods out there.”
In other words, it prevents the wearer from falling pregnant by one of two mechanisms:
The hormonal IUD
A low dose of progestin is released by the IUD, preventing the uterus from preparing itself to accept a zygote or fertilized ovum. It also changes the way the male sperm moves so it can’t get to the egg.
As an aside, the sperm has to swim through the uterus and into the fallopian tubes where it meets the egg released by the ovaries into the fallopian tubes. The egg moves down towards the uterus while the sperm swims upwards from the womb. When they meet, and the conditions are ideal, fertilization occurs, the zygote moves down to the uterus and embeds itself into the uterus wall.
The Copper T IUD
This IUD uses copper to prevent the wearer from falling pregnant. In summary, the copper activates the body’s immune system and causes an inflammatory reaction in the lining of the uterus. Copper is also toxic to the male sperm, so it is destroyed when it enters the uterus. Additionally, should an egg and sperm cell meet and fertilization occurs, the inflamed uterus lining will reject the zygote so it cannot continue with its development life cycle.
The Paragard Lawsuit: What happened?
At this juncture, it is essential to note that research shows that the IUD is 99% effective. And, for the most part, it is 100% safe. Except that there have been instances where the Paragard copper IUD has been defective and has broken up either during insertion, extraction, or while in the uterus.
This has resulted in a Paragard lawsuit, which you can join with the help of an attorney.
What is the Paragard lawsuit?
In summary, it is a multi-district litigation exercise that is not a class-action suit, but rather a special federal legal process designed to speed up the “process of handling complex cases such as air disaster litigation or complex product liability suits” like this lawsuit.
Final thoughts
This discussion is just the proverbial tip of the iceberg when it comes to “everything Paragard lawsuit.” Suppose you believe that you are a victim of a failing IUD. In that case, the best thing to do is to consult an attorney to discuss your options regarding filing a claim against the IUD’s manufacturer and joining the multi-district litigation exercise.