Doctors and company to be held liable for contraceptive failure

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7506.1467

BMJ 2005;330:1467 (25 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7506.1467

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Doctors and company to be held liable for contraceptive failure

Utrecht Tony Sheldon

A court in Holland has ruled that 15 women who became pregnant despite using the contraceptive implant Implanon are entitled to be paid damages for their "unintentional pregnancy." But whether Organon, the Netherlands based company that marketed Implanon, or the individual doctors who inserted it are liable remains unanswered.

The court concluded that both should pay damages unless either can bring further evidence. The doctors need to prove that the product was faulty and that they inserted it properly, Organon the opposite.

The decision covers 15 cases brought by the women against Organon and 13 brought against their doctors. Their pregnancies led to 10 births, four abortions, and one miscarriage. The amount of damages could be considerable, as it could include the cost of bringing up the children until the age of 18 years.

Organon launched Implanon in the Netherlands and abroad in 1999. It consists of . . . [Full text of this article]

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