A lawsuit has been filed against several major pharmaceutical companies over allegations of severe health consequences linked to a contraceptive drug. Victoria Powell, the plaintiff, initiated the complaint on December 20, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The defendants named in this case include Pfizer Inc., Viatris Inc., Greenstone LLC, Prasco Labs, and Pharmacia & Upjohn Co. LLC.
Victoria Powell's legal action seeks damages for personal injuries she claims were caused by the defendants' wrongful conduct concerning Depo-Provera, a contraceptive drug. According to Powell, these companies are responsible for designing, developing, manufacturing, distributing, labeling, advertising, marketing, promoting, and selling medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), also known as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), under the trade name Depo-Provera. Powell alleges that her use of Depo-Provera led to serious health issues including intracranial meningioma—a type of brain tumor—and paradoxical vocal cord dysfunction.
Powell asserts that she began receiving quarterly injections of Depo-Provera shortly after its FDA approval in 1992 and continued for three to four years. She experienced various adverse effects such as migraines, abnormal hair growth, acne, weight gain, facial numbness, memory problems, and eventually was diagnosed with an intracranial meningioma and paradoxical vocal cord dysfunction in February 2020. Despite numerous studies indicating a potential link between progesterone-based drugs like Depo-Provera and meningiomas dating back decades—studies which suggested high levels of progesterone receptors on meningioma cells—the defendants allegedly failed to adequately warn or inform users and healthcare providers about these risks.
The lawsuit claims that the defendants did not perform sufficient testing or provide adequate warnings regarding the potential dangers associated with long-term use of Depo-Provera. It also highlights that while some international labels have been updated to reflect these risks—such as those in Europe—the U.S. label remains unchanged regarding this particular danger.
Powell is seeking relief through compensatory damages for past and future medical expenses, loss of earnings capacity due to her injuries and conditions attributed to Depo-Provera usage. The complaint also calls for punitive damages due to what it describes as willful negligence by the pharmaceutical companies involved.
Representing Victoria Powell is attorney Jeff Marino from Ochsner Health System in New Orleans. The Case ID is: 2:24-cv-02927.