Predicted Paragard IUD Lawsuit Settlement Amounts (2024)

Paragard IUDs are a widely used form of birth control. However, these products have injured patients. The device is made of rigid plastic that can degrade and weaken. Pieces of the IUD can snap off during placement or removal, leaving foreign objects inside the patient’s body. These broken plastic shards can cause a range of complications, from pain and bleeding to permanent infertility.

Over 2,600 women have filed Paragard lawsuits against the device’s manufacturers, Teva Pharmaceuticals and CooperSurgical. They allege that these devices are defective because they should have used a flexible plastic that would be less prone to degrading and breaking. Based on this defect, injured patients assert the manufacturers must compensate them for their losses.

Status of the Paragard Lawsuits

Women injured by Paragard IUDs started filing lawsuits against Teva and CooperSurgical three years ago. As the number of cases grew, they were moved to a single court in Georgia to be overseen by a single federal judge.

This procedure, called multidistrict litigation (MDL), allows victims to cooperate in gathering evidence from the manufacturers and filing motions. This makes the process more efficient and less burdensome for injured victims.

Keep in mind that MDL is not a class action lawsuit. Each victim maintains a separate case. If the manufacturers propose a global settlement to the MDL plaintiffs, each has the option to accept the Paragard lawsuit settlement amounts proposed or reject them and take their case to trial.

The Paragard MDL has moved slowly. The litigation has yet to produce a court-approved settlement, and the first trial might not happen until late 2024 or early 2025. However, the manufacturers may be motivated to seek a settlement once trials begin. Jurors sympathize with injured consumers and could award millions or tens of millions of dollars to women with permanent injuries.

Predicted Paragard IUD Lawsuit Settlement Amounts

Navigating the legal landscape of medical device lawsuits can be daunting, especially when trying to estimate potential compensation. While every case is unique, several factors influence settlement amounts.

Normally, you could rely on past damage awards or settlements to predict the size of a possible global settlement in the MDL. Without this information, you must look at the structures used in other cases to pay settlements.

Rather than dividing a global settlement amount equally, medical device payouts are often paid in tiers. This allows claimants with more serious injuries to recover more than claimants with minor injuries. For example, in the recently settled 3M earplug litigation, users who suffered severe hearing loss recovered more than those with mild hearing loss or tinnitus.

Paragard IUD lawsuit settlement amounts would likely be distributed using a tiered structure because victims suffered injuries ranging in severity. A possible tier system could include the following:

Most Severely Affected

Victims who experienced the most severe complications, resulting in significant medical interventions, prolonged treatments, or permanent injuries, would fall into the highest tier. This tier might include permanent disabilities, like internal scarring or permanent infertility, caused by broken shards of plastic. This tier could also include women who experienced the migration of plastic shards into internal organs or the families of those who suffered fatal bleeding.

It is impossible to predict the amount of money paid at this tier. However, patients in this tier would receive the highest amounts, possibly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Moderate Complications

Individuals who faced moderate complications, which might have required medical attention but not long-term interventions, would fall into the middle tier. This tier might include those who needed surgery to remove plastic shards but suffered no permanent injuries. It might also include those with a permanent condition, like an embedded shard of plastic, that did not cause the loss of any body organ or function.

Again, a prediction of the exact Paragard IUD lawsuit settlement amounts is impossible. But this tier would receive less than the top tier, possibly in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Lesser Injuries

Those who had minimal complications, requiring less intensive medical care and having less lasting impact, occupy the lowest tier. Women who experienced pain, discomfort, temporary bleeding, or other transitory symptoms would fall into this tier. The lowest payouts would be paid at this tier, possibly in the thousands of dollars.

Predicted Paragard Lawsuit Damage Awards

A global settlement would not be the only way for the Paragard lawsuits to end. The parties in the MDL will select several cases to go to trial ahead of the others. These “bellwether” cases are meant to gauge the value of the claims so the parties can negotiate a settlement with the knowledge of what they stand to win or lose at trial.

The plaintiffs in the bellwether cases and any plaintiffs who opt out of a global settlement will take their chances with a jury. If the jurors are persuaded that the Paragard IUD caused their injuries, the jury will award damages. The damages in an individual lawsuit are often greater than the amount the plaintiff would get from a global settlement. However, they also risk getting nothing if the jury finds in favor of the manufacturer.

The factors considered by the jury when awarding damages will include the following:

Medical Expenses

Tangible costs like surgeries, hospital stays, and medications can be a significant component of the settlement.

Lost Wages and Earning Capacity

If the complications led to missed work or impacted future earnings, these losses could be factored in.

Pain and Suffering

Non-economic damages such as emotional distress and decreased quality of life play a role in determining compensation.

Get Your Paragard Case Evaluated For Free

ConsumerShield provides educational resources for victims injured by Paragard IUDs. We also conduct free case evaluations so you understand the options you may have for pursuing injury compensation. Finally, we can connect you with an experienced lawyer for further consultation. Fill out our contact form to request your free case evaluation so you can learn more about the claims you may have.