The Yaz and Yasmin birth control settlement represents one of the largest pharmaceutical class action settlements in U.S. history. Bayer agreed to pay over $2 billion to resolve approximately 10,300 claims from women who suffered serious blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks after taking these popular contraceptives.
A woman who developed a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in her leg after taking Yasmin for two years, for example, received a settlement payout as part of this agreement, which distributed an average of $212,000 to $220,000 per blood clot case. The settlement closed in January 2019 after years of litigation in federal court. However, the litigation did not end there—Canadian courts are still reviewing separate settlements, with a $9 million agreement reached in April 2026 for Canadian women affected by these same medications. The medications in question—Yaz, Yasmin, and their generic equivalent Ocella—contained the hormone drospirenone, which studies and litigation evidence suggested increased the risk of blood clots compared to older birth control formulations.
Table of Contents
- What Are Yaz and Yasmin, and Why Did Women File Lawsuits?
- The Complete Settlement Structure and Payout Breakdown
- Who Qualifies for the Settlement and How Injuries Were Categorized
- How to File a Claim and Navigate the Settlement Process
- Common Complications and Important Limitations of the Settlement
- Canadian Settlements and Ongoing International Litigation
- What This Settlement Means for Birth Control Safety and Future Litigation
- Conclusion
What Are Yaz and Yasmin, and Why Did Women File Lawsuits?
Yaz and Yasmin are oral contraceptive pills manufactured by Bayer that were marketed as having additional benefits beyond pregnancy prevention. Yasmin, approved by the FDA in 2001, was among the first birth control pills to contain drospirenone, a synthetic progestin. Bayer heavily promoted these pills as having a favorable side effect profile, suggesting they could help with acne, weight management, and water retention. The appeal of this marketing was significant—these pills captured millions of users in the United States and Canada, becoming among the top-prescribed contraceptives by the mid-2000s.
However, women began reporting serious blood clots, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs and pulmonary embolism (PE) in the lungs. Some users also suffered strokes and heart attacks. Lawsuits alleged that Bayer knew or should have known that drospirenone-based pills carried a three to four times higher risk of blood clots compared to pills containing older progestins like levonorgestrel. The company’s marketing materials, according to litigation claims, downplayed these risks or failed to adequately warn users. For instance, a 28-year-old woman who took Yasmin for contraception suffered a stroke that left her partially paralyzed—an outcome she and her legal team argued Bayer had failed to adequately warn her about.
The Complete Settlement Structure and Payout Breakdown
The U.S. settlement of more than $2 billion was one of the largest pharmaceutical settlements ever reached. Within this total, Bayer specifically allocated $2.04 billion to resolve approximately 10,300 blood clot injury claims, with average payouts ranging from $212,000 to $220,000 per case. The company also set aside $21.5 million to settle approximately 7,200 gallbladder disease claims, and $56.9 million for approximately 1,200 stroke and heart attack cases. In total, more than 19,000 lawsuits were settled under Federal MDL (Multidistrict Litigation) No. 2100.
A critical limitation of this settlement is that Bayer settled without admitting wrongdoing or liability. The company maintained that the settlement was made for purposes of resolving litigation efficiently, not because it acknowledged causing harm. This distinction matters legally and can affect how the settlement is perceived. Additionally, the settlement required plaintiffs to meet specific medical criteria to qualify. A woman who took Yaz for two years and developed a blood clot, for example, could potentially qualify, but a woman who took it for a few months and had a minor side effect would not. The settlement payouts also varied significantly based on the severity of injury, length of use, and other factors, meaning not all successful claimants received identical amounts.
Who Qualifies for the Settlement and How Injuries Were Categorized
The settlement established specific criteria for different types of injuries. For blood clot claims, the most significant category, qualifying injuries included deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and thrombosis in other locations. Gallbladder injury claims required evidence of gallbladder disease, including cholecystitis or cholelithiasis. Stroke and heart attack claims required medical documentation of cardiovascular events.
Women had to prove they took Yaz, Yasmin, or Ocella and developed one of these conditions during or shortly after use. The settlement structure divided blood clot cases into subclasses based on severity. A woman who suffered a blood clot that resolved without permanent complications might receive a lower payout than a woman who experienced a blood clot that caused permanent disability or required ongoing medical treatment. The settlement also included a provision for women who had not yet filed lawsuits—a claims process allowed eligible individuals to submit claims after the settlement was approved, as long as they met the statute of limitations requirements. One important downside is that the statute of limitations may have already expired for some women who experienced injuries years ago, making them ineligible to participate in the settlement.
How to File a Claim and Navigate the Settlement Process
For the U.S. settlement, the claims process has largely concluded as the MDL closed in January 2019. However, women who believe they qualify should contact an attorney or research whether late claims were still being accepted in specific jurisdictions. An attorney can help determine whether a woman’s injury and use timeline meet the settlement criteria and gather the necessary medical documentation.
The process typically required submitting proof of purchase or prescription records, medical records documenting the blood clot or other injury, and evidence of causation linking the medication to the condition. A significant challenge in this settlement is that gathering sufficient documentation years after the injury can be difficult. A woman who suffered a blood clot in 2010, for example, would need to obtain medical records from that time, which may require contacting hospitals and clinics that have since closed or transferred records to archives. Additionally, the settlement imposed deadlines for claim submission, and missing these deadlines generally meant forfeiting the right to compensation. The alternative to settling individually was remaining part of the class action, which would have extended the litigation and offered no guarantee of a better outcome.
Common Complications and Important Limitations of the Settlement
One major limitation is that the settlement does not cover all women who experienced adverse effects from these medications. Women who took Yaz or Yasmin and experienced milder side effects—such as headaches, nausea, or mood changes—did not qualify. The settlement focused on serious, medically documented injuries. Additionally, the settlement did not include compensation for non-monetary harms, such as the emotional trauma of surviving a near-fatal blood clot or the permanent lifestyle changes some women faced after strokes.
Another complication is that not all women who developed blood clots while taking these pills necessarily qualified. The settlement required proving a causal link between the medication and the injury. A woman who took Yasmin, experienced a blood clot, and was subsequently found to have an underlying genetic clotting disorder might have her claim denied because the genetic factor, rather than the medication, was deemed the primary cause. Furthermore, some women who suffered injuries lived in states or countries with different statutes of limitations, which affected their eligibility. The settlement also did not provide coverage for women who developed injuries after a certain cutoff date, even if they had been taking the medication before that date.
Canadian Settlements and Ongoing International Litigation
While the U.S. settlement concluded in 2019, litigation in Canada continued. In November 2025, approval hearings for Yasmin and Yaz class actions took place in Ontario and Québec.
In April 2026, a separate $9 million settlement agreement was reached to compensate Canadian women who developed blood clots after taking these medications. Saskatchewan’s motion for settlement approval was adjourned to February 11, 2026, indicating that additional decisions on Canadian settlements remain pending. The existence of Canadian settlements highlights an important point: injury patterns from pharmaceutical products often emerge globally, and litigation evolves differently across countries based on regulatory systems, legal standards, and the strength of available evidence. A Canadian woman who took Yasmin and suffered a blood clot may have had a different claims process and potentially different compensation than an American woman with an identical injury, depending on Canadian provincial laws and settlement agreements specific to each jurisdiction.
What This Settlement Means for Birth Control Safety and Future Litigation
The Yaz and Yasmin settlement set an important precedent for pharmaceutical accountability in contraceptive medication. It demonstrated that even widely-used, FDA-approved medications could carry undisclosed or under-disclosed risks that justified major litigation and settlement payouts. The case also elevated awareness about drospirenone-based contraceptives, leading many women and healthcare providers to reconsider these medications in favor of older progestin formulations with longer safety records. The settlement did not mark the end of Yaz and Yasmin-related litigation.
The existence of pending Canadian approvals as of 2026 shows that litigation momentum continues. The case also serves as a reminder that regulatory approval does not eliminate risk—it only indicates that benefits were deemed to outweigh known risks at the time of approval. As new evidence emerged about blood clot risks, the risk-benefit calculation shifted, leading to litigation and settlements. Women considering birth control options today benefit from this litigation history, as healthcare providers now have more complete information about the relative risks of different contraceptive formulations.
Conclusion
The Yaz and Yasmin blood clot settlement represents a $2.04 billion commitment by Bayer to compensate women who suffered blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks linked to these contraceptives. With average payouts of $212,000 to $220,000 per blood clot case and settlements across multiple injury categories, the agreement resolved more than 19,000 lawsuits by January 2019. However, the settlement included significant limitations—it did not cover all adverse effects, required strict medical documentation, and was subject to statutes of limitations that excluded some eligible women.
For women who believe they may have been harmed by Yaz, Yasmin, or Ocella, the available remedies depend on when the injury occurred and where they live. In the United States, the federal settlement has largely concluded, though individual claims may still be possible in certain circumstances with the help of an attorney. In Canada, settlement approvals continue as of 2026. Consulting with a qualified attorney who specializes in pharmaceutical litigation is the first step to understanding whether an individual woman qualifies for compensation and what the claims process entails.