A law firm has indicated that more than 300 women have initiated a lawsuit over Bayer’s recalled batch of Yaz Plus contraceptives in 2024.
According to EWN, LHL Attorneys was approached by the women after the pills were recalled following a packaging error.
The error meant the defective packs (Batch No. WEW96J, distributed on 9 and 24 November 2023) contained only four hormone-free placebo tablets instead of 24, compromising their contraceptive effectiveness.
The affected packs contained 24 light orange hormone-free tablets and four pink film-coated hormone tablets, instead of the regulated 24 pink film-coated hormone tablets and four light orange hormone-free tablets.
“It is quite a serious error because effectively it’s inverted the whole sequence that a normal blister pack would have had and essentially provided no contraceptive efficacy,” said LHL Attorneys lawyer Angelique Pienaar.
The incorrect blister. Image credit:
Bayer
The correct blister. Image credit:
BayerGiven their ineffectiveness in birth control, the error could have resulted in several unplanned pregnancies. Sunday Times reports that the defective batch affected more than 500 women.
“Where this has resulted in a pregnancy, there are a lot of financial expenses associated with that... all financial costs that someone now has to incur which they have specifically not planned for,” added Pienaar.
EWN reports that Pienaar and the firm are now working with the women who had come forward to obtain medical and pharmacy records to determine whether the defective contraceptive caused their pregnancies.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Bayer and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) issued a recall after finding the error.
Pienaar said the recall is significant because it acknowledges a defect in the batch.
“They can’t now argue that there was no defect or no error in the batch,” said the lawyer.
LHL Attorneys is calling on women who have experienced unplanned pregnancies as a result of this defective batch of birth control to come forward.
