The Essure coil could be inserted into the fallopian tubes without surgical intervention. But many women in the United States complained of pain and sued Bayer. Now the case is off the table - but it costs.
Leverkusen (dpa) - Bayer has tied a billion-dollar agreement in the US dispute over alleged health risks of the Essure contraceptive spiral.
The Dax Group in Leverkusen announced that agreements were made with plaintiffs' law firms, with which around 90 percent of the almost 39,000 Essure lawsuits that have already been filed or some not yet filed in the USA are settled. Bayer intends to raise a total of around 1.6 billion US dollars (1.35 billion euros), which also includes lump sums for claims for which no settlement agreements have yet been made. These plaintiffs are currently still being spoken to.
An agreement was expected in view of the intensified discussions recently, which is why Bayer had already put money aside for it. The settlement amount was covered by provisions, it was said by von Leverkusen.
Bayer took over the controversial metal spiral business in 2013 with the purchase of the US manufacturer Conceptus. It was discontinued in the US in late 2018. The coil could be inserted into the fallopian tubes without surgery. However, many women complained of chronic pain, irregular bleeding, injuries to the uterus and fallopian tubes, and depression.
The plaintiffs who join the settlement will withdraw or not file their lawsuits, Bayer said. The group also emphasized once again that the settlement agreements were not an admission of guilt.
With the settlement, Bayer is clearing up another major legal construction site. As has been known since June, the Leverkusen-based company is taking 820 million dollars in hand to settle the major part of the US proceedings over the environmental toxin PCB, which has been banned in the US since 1979 and which the subsidiary Monsanto had previously produced. Added to this is a $ 400 million compromise over complaints about alleged crop damage caused by the weed killer Dicamba. In the latter case, Bayer also wants to bring its co-sued competitor BASF on board.
By far the most expensive dispute remains the one about alleged cancer risks of weed killers containing glyphosate. Here, however, the desired comparison with the majority of the plaintiffs wobbles. Because: The responsible federal judge Vince Chhabria was bothered by the part of the agreement that covers possible future cases. As a result, Bayer withdrew the application for consent to deal with these cases, which were scheduled to be settled $ 1.25 billion.
This basically does not change the agreement with the majority of the approximately 125,000 filed and un-filed lawsuits, for which up to 9.6 billion dollars are earmarked. However, Bayer boss Werner Baumann had repeatedly emphasized that a large-scale agreement would also have to resolve future legal disputes. The manager emphasized in the course of the publication of the half-year figures at the beginning of August that the approach remains to find a comprehensive solution. A new proposal would be discussed with representatives of future cases.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200820-99-245050 / 2
Bayer announcement