Five “Pilot” Cases Selected for Initial Trials in Depo-Provera Product Liability MDL
U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers recently selected five Depo-Provera brain tumor lawsuits as “pilot” cases to go through early trials in the MDL against Pfizer, as the number of claims continues to increase.
After the unsettling research published by the British Medical Journal linked Depo-Provera, a common injectable birth control, to a five times greater risk of developing intracranial meningiomas (brain or spinal tumors) in women, many began to file lawsuits against the manufacturer.
As of March 2025, more than 70 women have filed product liability lawsuits against Pfizer Inc. and other manufacturers of certain generic versions of the drug, claiming that the drugmakers were aware of the drug’s risks but failed to inform patients. With so many plaintiffs sharing common allegations, a mechanism called a multi-district litigation, or MDL, was established to streamline the litigation process. The MDL centralizes cases with similar claims under one judge in one court. The Depo-Provera MDL has been assigned to U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers in the Northern District of Florida.
On February 21, 2025, Judge Rodgers held a case management conference for the MDL, and two days later, issued an order where she announced the selection of five “pilot” cases for test trials. This announcement is rare for a new MDL, which has been established only a few weeks prior. Typically, MDL test trials are selected after a lengthy vetting process. The pilot cases include three women from California, one from New Jersey, and one from Florida. Case-specific discovery will be completed for these five cases, which will help gauge how the juries will respond to the remaining cases. More cases are expected to be filed, as women become aware of the link between Depo-Provera and brain and spinal meningiomas.
The Judge also called upon the parties to discuss processes to allow new cases to be efficiently and directly filed into the MDL.
If you or a loved one took Depo-Provera for one year or more (received four or more injections) and were diagnosed with a meningioma (brain or spine tumor) in the past 25 years, you may be eligible to file a claim.
Did You Develop a Meningioma After Getting the Depo-Provera Birth Control Shot?
If you were diagnosed with an intracranial meningioma (brain or spine tumor) after using the Depo-Provera, Depo-SubQ Provera, or an authorized generic version of the birth control shot, contact our attorneys today to learn more about your rights and what potential recoveries may be available for you to pursue. Grant & Eisenhofer’s mass tort attorneys have experience representing women in a multitude of different women’s health claims and our team is here for you during this difficult time in your life.
