Essure device: 200 women in England and Wales can take legal action against Bayer

The High Court in London has made a group litigation order allowing around 200 women in England and Wales to come together to sue the pharmaceutical company Bayer over alleged harms from the permanent contraceptive device Essure.

Marketed as a non-surgical alternative to traditional sterilisation methods, Essure was sold in the UK between 2009 and 2017, when Bayer announced plans to discontinue all sales of the device outside the US. Made of metal and plastic, it was fitted in GP surgeries and hospitals across the UK, taking around 15 minutes. The device was implanted in the fallopian tubes through a narrow tube …