If you are asking how to join an Essure lawsuit, the honest starting point is that most of the litigation is already over. Bayer resolved roughly 90 percent of the nearly 39,000 Essure claims filed in the United States, paying approximately $1.6 billion in total settlements.1Bayer. Bayer Announces Resolution of U.S. Essure Claims The multidistrict litigation that consolidated those cases has largely wound down, and many firms that once advertised for Essure clients have stopped taking new ones. Filing a new individual claim in 2026 is still theoretically possible, but you face two serious barriers before you get anywhere near a settlement: your state’s filing deadline, and a federal preemption defense that has knocked out large numbers of these cases. Here is what actually goes into pursuing a claim now, and what to check first.
Whether You Can Still Bring a Claim
Eligibility turns on whether you suffered documented harm that traces back to the device. The complications that have driven Essure lawsuits include chronic pelvic or abdominal pain, migration of the coils out of the fallopian tubes, perforation of the uterus or fallopian tubes, allergic or hypersensitivity reactions often linked to the nickel content, unintended pregnancy, and the need for surgical removal. Some plaintiffs have also reported autoimmune-like symptoms, fatigue, and mood disorders, though the medical literature on those links is less settled.
The FDA itself documented a broad range of adverse effects in clinical trials and post-market reports, from short-term pain, cramping, bleeding, nausea, and dizziness to longer-term chronic pain, device migration into the abdominal cavity, ectopic pregnancies, and pregnancy losses. Post-market surveillance also turned up headaches, fatigue, weight changes, hair loss, and depression, and the agency noted that about 8 percent of women who underwent placement attempts could not rely on the device for birth control at all.2U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Essure Benefits and Risks
Whichever complications you experienced, medical documentation is the backbone of the claim. You need records that show when the device was implanted, what symptoms appeared, what treatments you received, and ideally a physician’s opinion connecting those symptoms to Essure. Defense attorneys will look hard for alternative explanations for your injuries, and a thin paper trail is often fatal to a case.
The practical problem in 2026 is timing. Bayer voluntarily stopped selling and distributing Essure after December 31, 2018.3U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Activities Related to Essure Most implantations happened before that. Combined with the $1.6 billion resolution, that means the statute of limitations has run out for many potential plaintiffs. The door is not completely shut, but you need to move quickly.
The Preemption Defense You Need to Know About
This is the single biggest obstacle that surprises people. Essure went through the FDA’s premarket approval process, and Bayer has consistently argued that federal law preempts state-law injury claims against approved devices. The theory comes from the Medical Device Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which bars states from imposing requirements on approved devices that differ from federal ones. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this principle in Riegel v. Medtronic in 2008.
Courts have dismissed or significantly narrowed Essure lawsuits on preemption grounds in dozens of cases. The claims that survive are so-called parallel claims, where the plaintiff shows that Bayer violated a specific federal requirement and that state law independently provides a remedy for the same violation. That is a high bar. General allegations that the device was defective or that the manufacturer should have warned users are usually not enough on their own.
Some attorneys work around preemption by focusing on manufacturing defects, arguing that the specific device implanted deviated from the FDA-approved design, or by alleging that Bayer withheld safety information from the FDA itself. Go into any consultation understanding that preemption will likely be central to the analysis, and that not every attorney will take a case where the preemption defense looks strong.
Filing Deadlines That Could End Your Case Before It Starts
Every state sets its own deadline for filing a product liability lawsuit. Most give you between two and four years, but the clock does not always start on the same date.
Under the discovery rule, the limitations period begins when you knew or reasonably should have known that your injury was connected to Essure. If a doctor told you in 2024 that your chronic pain was caused by a migrated coil, the clock may have started then, even if the device was implanted years earlier. This exception requires solid evidence that you could not have made the connection sooner, so records of when you first learned about the link matter.
Some states also have statutes of repose. These set a hard deadline measured from the date the product was sold or implanted, regardless of when you discovered the injury. Repose periods are absolute. If a state imposes a 10-year repose period and your device was implanted in 2012, no discovery rule will save the claim after 2022. Because Essure was last sold in 2018 and most implantations occurred before that, repose deadlines are becoming an increasingly serious barrier. An attorney licensed in your state can tell you definitively whether your window is still open.
Steps to Actually File a Claim
If your case survives the initial timing and preemption screen, the process is straightforward in structure even if the litigation itself is not.
- Consult a product liability attorney with specific experience in medical device litigation. During the initial consultation, the attorney will review your medical records, assess your timeline against the relevant statute of limitations, evaluate preemption risks, and tell you whether the case is viable. Most consultations are free.
- Gather your evidence. Beyond medical records, this includes prescription histories, out-of-pocket expense receipts, records of missed work, and any correspondence with your doctor about Essure-related symptoms. If you kept a journal or notes about your symptoms over time, those can help establish a timeline.
- Work with your attorney to secure expert testimony. Medical experts review your records and testify about the link between Essure and your injuries. Expert opinions carry particular weight in cases involving design defect or failure-to-warn theories.
- File the complaint. If the attorney takes your case, they draft and file a formal complaint in the appropriate court identifying your claims, the legal theories, and the damages you are seeking.
Because most Essure litigation has wound down, expect that fewer firms are actively taking new cases. If you are turned down, ask why. If the reason is the statute of limitations or preemption, those are legal barriers that will not change with a different firm. If the reason is case volume, keep looking.
One structural note: the coordinated Essure MDL (MDL No. 2785) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania produced Bayer’s mass settlement, and the vast majority of those cases have been resolved.1Bayer. Bayer Announces Resolution of U.S. Essure Claims A new claim today would almost certainly proceed as an individual lawsuit rather than as part of a consolidated proceeding.
Getting Your Medical Records
Because records are the case, start collecting them before you finish shopping for an attorney. You need documentation of the original implantation, every follow-up appointment, any imaging that shows device position, records of symptoms and treatments, and notes from any doctor who discussed removing the device.
Federal law is on your side here. The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires covered health care providers and health plans to give you access to your protected health information upon request, including the right to receive copies or to direct the provider to send them to someone else such as your attorney.4U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Individuals’ Right Under HIPAA to Access Their Health Information Providers may charge reasonable fees for copies and administrative processing, so ask about costs before you submit the request.
Move quickly. Providers are not required to keep records indefinitely, and the further you get from treatment dates, the harder retrieval becomes. If Essure was implanted at one facility and you treated complications elsewhere, request records from each provider separately.
Surgical removal records deserve special mention. Removal is not a simple reversal of the original placement. Depending on where the coils have migrated and how much scar tissue has formed, the procedure can range from a hysteroscopy to a laparoscopy, salpingectomy, or in some cases a hysterectomy. Those surgical records are among the most powerful evidence you can put in front of a court about the physical harm the device caused, and the removal cost itself is a recoverable damage.
What a Successful Claim Can Recover
Essure lawsuits seek compensatory damages in two categories.
Economic damages cover losses with a specific dollar value: medical bills for surgery, hospital stays, follow-up treatment, and medication; the cost of the removal procedure itself; lost wages from time away from work; and reduced earning capacity if complications caused lasting disability. If you are still paying for Essure-related treatment, future medical costs factor in as well.
Non-economic damages compensate for harm without a receipt: chronic pain and physical suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium (the impact on your relationship with a spouse). These are harder to quantify but often represent a significant portion of the total award.
Punitive damages may also be available in some cases. They exist to punish a manufacturer that knowingly concealed a defect or intentionally disregarded consumer safety. They are not guaranteed in every case, and some states cap them, but they can substantially increase a total recovery.
What It Costs to Pursue a Case
Most attorneys who handle medical device lawsuits work on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront. The attorney takes a percentage of the recovery if you win or settle, typically between 30 and 40 percent. If the case is unsuccessful, you owe no attorney fees.
Contingency fees do not always cover every expense. Litigation costs that may be billed separately or deducted from the settlement include court filing fees, expert witness fees (which can be substantial, since specialists charge hourly for record review, report writing, depositions, and trial testimony), fees for obtaining medical records, deposition transcript costs, and travel expenses. Some attorneys advance these costs and deduct them from the settlement; others expect you to pay as they arise. Clarify this arrangement before signing a retainer agreement, and ask specifically what happens to advanced costs if the case is lost.