The number of angry women likely to sue Bayer after a defective batch of contraceptive pills resulted in unintended pregnancies is growing, according to attorneys reviewing more than 500 cases for the potential legal action, reports TimesLIVE.
The Taz Plus birth control pills, later recalled by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), had resulted in hundreds of unplanned pregnancies countrywide.
One KwaZulu-Natal woman (27) who found out at 28 weeks that she was pregnant, said she and her husband had been relying on the pills for contraception, and had no plans for another child.
Now, she is one of more than 500 women whose lives have been turned upside down. She said the consequences had been far-reaching; medical bills soared above R80 000, they were forced to sell their car, close their business for weeks, and eventually move towns to afford schooling for their other child.
She said they paid about R23 000 in cash for the gynaecologist and a further R40 000 to the hospital. They also incurred additional costs for medical scans, which cost about R3 500 each.
Her story is at the heart of the potential class action lawsuit that could reshape the landscape of pharmaceutical accountability in South Africa.
Law firm LHL Attorneys Incorporated told the Sunday Times it is reviewing more than 500 inquiries from women who may have been affected by the faulty batch, and that it continues to receive new reports daily as more women realise the impact the packaging error may have had on their lives.
SAHPRA had issued a recall of the pills after discovering that batch WEW96J, distributed between 9 November and 24 in 2023, contained 24 hormone-free tablets and only four hormone-containing tablets, instead of the correct 24 active pills and four placebos.
Under the Consumer Protection Act, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can be held liable for defective products, even if unaware of the defect. Alternatively, claims may be brought in delict for negligence.
The KZN couple had only learned about the recall via social media: she and her husband have since endured an exhausting ordeal, medical expenses, business disruption, and the daily challenges of raising a child for whom they had not planned.
Beyond the financial strain, the emotional toll was immense even for their marriage. “We didn’t speak to each other for three hours after I told him I was pregnant,” she said. The birth itself was traumatic, ending in an emergency C-section after her baby went into foetal distress.
“All I heard while I was lying on the operating table was ‘Code Red, Code Red’. When they pulled him out, he was blue in the face, and I didn’t hear him cry. My heart almost broke. But then, luckily, he started crying. In that moment, nothing else mattered.”
Demi Buckley, a senior associate at LHL Attorneys, said the type and extent of compensation may differ depending on each woman’s circumstances and the effects of the pregnancy.
Potential claims include medical expenses, loss of income, and, in cases of miscarriage or termination, damages for pain, suffering, and trauma. For live births, compensation may cover the unplanned costs of raising a child, from food and clothing to school fees and, in some cases, tertiary education.
Buckley said the claims are not about rejecting the children born as a result of the defective batch.
“In many circumstances, families are very happy with the outcome and love their children very much. The driving force behind this claim is to ensure women are compensated for the unplanned expenses …and incurred as a result of a defective product.”
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
SA women sue after faulty birth control pill recalled
Contraceptive pills recalled in SA after packaging ‘mix-up’