The main active IUD birth control lawsuit is the Paragard multidistrict litigation in the Northern District of Georgia, where thousands of women allege the copper IUD fractures during removal and leaves plastic and copper pieces inside the body. As of June 2026, roughly 4,071 cases are pending in MDL 2974, the first bellwether trial ended in a defense verdict for Teva, no global settlement has been reached, and a federal preemption appeal is now heading to the Eleventh Circuit.1Drugwatch. Paragard Lawsuits
The older Mirena IUD litigation is closed. A separate mass tort over the Depo-Provera injection and brain tumors is active but involves a different product.
What Paragard Plaintiffs Are Alleging
Paragard is a T-shaped, hormone-free copper IUD approved by the FDA in 1984 for contraceptive use for up to ten years.2FDA. Paragard Prescribing Information Teva Pharmaceuticals made and marketed it until September 2017, when CooperSurgical bought the product.3Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Teva Announces Sale of Paragard to CooperSurgical
Plaintiffs claim the rigid plastic arms of the device are prone to snapping during a procedure marketed as a routine, nonsurgical office removal, and that both companies knew about the breakage tendency and failed to warn patients and doctors.1Drugwatch. Paragard Lawsuits The complaints assert design defects, manufacturing defects, negligent failure to warn, and fraudulent omission of safety information.4Motley Rice. Paragard Lawsuit
The alleged injuries all trace back to fragments left inside the body after an arm breaks off:
- Uterine perforation from broken pieces puncturing the uterine wall.
- Organ damage when fragments migrate into the abdomen or pelvis and injure the bladder or intestines.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease or chronic infection around embedded material.
- Infertility caused by scarring, repeated surgeries, or hysterectomy.
- Additional surgical procedures like hysteroscopy or laparoscopy to retrieve fragments, sometimes across multiple attempts.4Motley Rice. Paragard Lawsuit
The FDA updated the Paragard label in 2019 to warn that “breakage of an embedded Paragard during non-surgical removal has been reported” and to list device breakage as an adverse reaction observed after approval.2FDA. Paragard Prescribing Information More than 7,000 Paragard adverse event reports had been submitted to the FDA’s FAERS database by November 2024, with most designated as serious and requiring hospitalization.5The National Desk. Inquiry Led to FDA Safety Review of Paragard Breakage
Is It a Class Action?
No. The Paragard cases are consolidated as multidistrict litigation, not a class action. In December 2020, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation sent the federal cases to Judge Leigh Martin May in the Northern District of Georgia for coordinated pretrial handling.6Angeion Group. Paragard IUD
The difference affects what any recovery looks like. In a class action, one representative sues on behalf of everyone and the outcome applies to the whole group. In an MDL, cases are grouped only for efficiency during discovery and motions, each plaintiff keeps their own claim, and if there’s no global settlement the cases can be sent back to their home courts for individual trials with individualized compensation.7TorHoerman Law. Is There a Paragard Class Action Lawsuit
A parallel set of Paragard cases has also been consolidated in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas at the state level.8Stark and Stark. A Definitive Guide to Paragard Lawsuits
Where the Litigation Stands in 2026
The First Bellwether Verdict
Judge May set up a bellwether program to test three representative cases before juries, one picked by plaintiffs, one by the defense, and one by the court.7TorHoerman Law. Is There a Paragard Class Action Lawsuit The first trial, Rickard v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc., began January 20, 2026. Plaintiff Pauline Rickard alleged her Paragard IUD broke while implanted, required complicated removal procedures, and harmed her fertility. On February 3, 2026, the jury returned a complete defense verdict, rejecting every claim: strict liability failure to warn, negligent failure to warn, strict liability defective design, negligent design, negligent misrepresentation, and fraudulent omission.9Butler Snow. Teva Wins First Paragard IUD Bellwether Trial
Plaintiffs’ co-lead counsel Erin Copeland said the team would continue to bring “more of that truth into the light” in future trials.9Butler Snow. Teva Wins First Paragard IUD Bellwether Trial The next two bellwether plaintiffs are Alisa Robere and Melody Braxton. Their trials were pushed from spring 2026 to fall 2026 to work through data from Rickard and finish expert discovery.10Dolman Law Group. Paragard IUD Lawsuit
CooperSurgical Wins on Design Defect Claims
On November 21, 2025, Judge May granted summary judgment for CooperSurgical on the bellwether plaintiffs’ design defect claims. The court reasoned that CooperSurgical did not hold the Paragard New Drug Application when those plaintiffs’ devices were placed and therefore could not have changed the design in time to prevent their injuries.11AboutLawsuits. Paragard Lawsuit Design Defect Claims Thrown Out by Federal Judge Failure-to-warn claims against CooperSurgical remain, since plaintiffs argue the company controlled the label for years before their removals.
The Preemption Appeal
Teva has argued that federal law governing FDA-approved labeling preempts the state-law failure-to-warn claims at the center of the litigation, contesting how a lower court ruling applies the FDA’s changes-being-effected regulation on when a manufacturer can update a label without prior FDA approval.12Mealey’s Litigation Report. Teva Renews Interlocutory Appeal Motion on Preemption in Paragard IUD MDL In April 2026, an interlocutory appeal was granted and the Eleventh Circuit will hear the issue. One more bellwether trial is allowed to proceed, then the MDL will be stayed while the appeal runs.1Drugwatch. Paragard Lawsuits A defense-favorable ruling could undercut the failure-to-warn claims that carry the litigation.
Settlement Status
No global settlement has been reached or publicly proposed as of June 2026.1Drugwatch. Paragard Lawsuits Judge May appointed retired Judge M. Gino Brogdon Jr. as a mediator in January 2023, but serious negotiations usually track bellwether results, and the defense verdict in Rickard has not generated settlement pressure.13ConsumerNotice. Paragard Lawsuits There are no reliable per-plaintiff settlement estimates, and the pending preemption appeal adds further uncertainty.14Miller and Zois. Paragard IUD
Who May Be Eligible to File
A potential plaintiff generally needs three things: proof a Paragard IUD was implanted, evidence the device broke or fractured during or before removal, and a documented injury caused by that breakage. Qualifying injuries include those requiring surgery to retrieve fragments, uterine perforation, organ damage, infection, infertility, and other medical complications tied to the failure.15Motley Rice. Paragard Lawsuit Settlements Supporting documentation typically includes medical records confirming implantation and removal, imaging showing the breakage or retained fragments, and treatment records.16BB Trial. Paragard Lawsuit Update
Filing deadlines depend on state law and on when the injury occurred or was discovered, so the window varies by where you live. Claims can be filed in the federal MDL or in an applicable state court.
Other IUD and Birth Control Litigation
Mirena IUD (Closed)
Bayer previously faced thousands of lawsuits over its Mirena hormonal IUD, mostly claiming the device migrated and perforated organs. In August 2017, Bayer offered $12.2 million to resolve organ perforation and migration claims for about 4,600 plaintiffs in a federal MDL and New Jersey multicounty litigation, with individual payouts running from $2,500 to $50,000 depending on injury.17Drugwatch. Mirena Lawsuits18The Cochran Firm. Mirena IUD Lawsuit A separate set of Mirena claims alleging the device caused pseudotumor cerebri effectively ended in October 2018 when a federal judge excluded all plaintiffs’ expert witnesses for lack of reliable scientific support.19Goldman Ismail. Bayer Wins Daubert Ruling in Mirena IIH MDL All Mirena litigation has closed.
Depo-Provera Meningioma Litigation (Active)
Depo-Provera is an injectable contraceptive, not an IUD, but it is the fastest-growing current birth control mass tort. Plaintiffs allege long-term use of the Pfizer product raises the risk of meningioma, a type of brain tumor. The cases are consolidated in MDL 3140 before Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida, with 5,508 cases pending as of June 2026 after growing more than 5,700% since the MDL was created in February 2025.20MDL Update. MDL-3140 Depo-Provera A 2024 BMJ study found women who used Depo-Provera for at least a year had more than five times the odds of developing an intracranial meningioma. In December 2025, the FDA approved a meningioma risk warning added to the Depo-Provera label, and the first bellwether trial is set for December 2026.21Drugwatch. Depo-Provera Lawsuit