Paragard IUD Lawsuit
IUD Lawsuit Maryland - Paragard IUD Lawyer Maryland
If you or a loved one suffered injuries after using the Paragard© IUD for birth control, you may be entitled to financial compensation from the manufacturer. Some injuries may include device breakage, organ perforation, device migration, hysterectomy, and scarring. Contact Vanderhyde Law today to see if you qualify. Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 or fill out our contact form and a Maryland IUD Lawyer will contact you to answer your questions. This is a free consultation. There are no legal fees unless you receive money. Operators are standing by. Call now.
Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 for a Free Consultation. No Legal Fees Unless You Receive Money.
IUD Lawsuit Maryland - Paragard IUD Lawyer MD
If it wasn’t already known, few would guess that a small amount of copper inserted in the uterus could prevent pregnancy more effectively than almost any other method. Yet that’s the case. The process of discovering and developing copper IUDs took a long process of research and trial and error—and some disasters along the way.
The first material used in IUDs was silkworm gut, selected by researchers in the early twentieth centuries for its strength and flexibility (the material was also used for sutures). The speculation that the foreign body placed in the uterus would prevent pregnancy proved correct.
In the following decades, researchers experimented with other materials, including metals such as bronze and silver. The silver built up in patients’ bloodstreams and caused their gums to turn a blue color, so this idea was abandoned.
IUD Lawsuit Maryland
In the 60s, plastic IUDs were developed, but they were not as effective as researchers hoped. In the late 60s, Jaime Zipper, a Chilean doctor, discovered that copper was highly effective at boosting the devices’ success rate. The material kills sperm, even beheading them sometimes, though why it’s so effective is not completely known.
Copper achieves this without causing any noticeable effects in the rest of the body.
Copper IUDs came on the market, but they hit a rough patch in the 70s when one IUD, the Dalkon Shield , caused many cases of uterine infection due to its poorly designed string. Tens of thousands of women sued the manufacturer, and the popularity of IUDs declined for years afterward.
IUD Lawsuit Maryland
The ParaGard IUD was developed in 1988 and remains the only copper IUD available in the US. Other copper IUDs are on the market in other countries, but not available in the US due to very strict testing rules that were put in place after the Dalkon Shield disaster.
Among its benefits, it can be left in for 10 to 12 years (although research doesn’t suggest any rapid decline in effectiveness even after that) and works as emergency contraception if inserted within 5 days after sex. It’s also reversible and stops working almost immediately after insertion.
The most common side effect of Paragard is increased menstrual bleeding and cramping. This can range from very severe to not a big enough change to be noticed.
IUD Lawyer Maryland
Serious side effects can also occur. The IUDs arm may become embedding in the uterus, either during insertion or afterward. If it continues to make its way through the tissue it can leave the uterus altogether and perforate other organs as well. This process causes damage that can result in future fertility problems down the road, and increased risk of ectopic pregnancy.
It can also necessitate surgery to repair the injury and remove the device. In other rare cases, the arm of the IUD can break off during removal, or pelvic infection can appear within the weeks after insertion. This is rare because the insertion process is designed to be sterile.
IUD Lawsuit Maryland