Important news for women: just because a birth-control drug is newer does not mean it’s better and in fact it may be more dangerous than older drugs, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Women taking Yaz birth control pills, a so-called “next generation” medication that contains the synthetic hormone drospirenone, are 75% more likely to experience blood clots, according to a study just released by the FDA. The agency also reported higher complications in women using the Ortho Evra patch from Johnson & Johnson and the Nuvaring vaginal ring from Merck & Co. Inc.

Women who weren’t fully informed about the pills’ risks and who later developed blood clots have grounds for a lawsuit against Bayer. The blood clots, known as venous thromboembolisms (VTE) usually begin in the legs and can migrate to the lungs, where they are life-threatening.

The FDA has repeatedly warned drug manufacturer Bayer about marketing Yaz and its sister medication, Yasmine, as “safer” forms of birth control without disclosing their higher risks for blood clots. Experts advise that women who have been on Yaz, Yasmin or similar drugs should not discontinue use without talking to their health care provider. However, newcomers to the pill might consider older options. Women with other additional risk factors for blood clots definitely should not be on drospirenone-containing pills.

Risk factors for VTE include:

• Smoking
• Being overweight
• A family history of blood clots

Blood clots in the legs can lead to heart attacks, strokes, liver damage, depression, hyperkalemia (too much potassium in the blood that can disrupt heart rhythms, slow the flow of blood and create clotting) and other serious medical problems.

Robert Jenner brings to the My Advocates medical and legal team more than 26 years experience representing injured consumers nation-wide against the manufacturers of dangerous prescription drugs, defective medical devices, tainted blood products, and other unsafe products. Mr. Jenner has been honored by his peers for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America” and “Maryland’s Super Lawyers”(named in Top 50). READ FULL BIO