A lawsuit has been filed against Johnson & Johnson, maker of the Ortho Evra birth control patch, on behalf of a Colorado woman who experienced a pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) after using the Ortho Evra birth control patch.

The woman was 31 in April 2004 when she first used the Ortho Evra birth control patch. Just nine months later, she was hospitalized and diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism and DVT. As a result of her Ortho Evra birth control patch side effects, she can no longer use any hormone therapy treatment for contraception and is more likely to experience future medical problems.

On November 10, 2005, Johnson & Johnson announced that it would change the Ortho Evra birth control patch warning label to reflect the fact that women using the patch are exposed to 60% more estrogen than are those taking birth control pills. Such an elevated exposure to estrogen on the part of women using the Ortho Evra birth control patch is reminiscent of the high-dose estrogen forms of the pill that the FDA took off the market in 1988.

On September 20, 2006, Johnson & Johnson’s revised product labeling conceded that women using the Ortho Evra birth control patch are more likely to develop blood clots in the lungs and legs than are women who take the pill. As a matter of fact, a study sponsored by Johnson & Johnson indicates that the Ortho Evra birth control patch may double women’s risk of blood clot injuries.

The woman filing suit in Colorado alleges that when she was using the Ortho Evra birth control patch, Johnson & Johnson knew—or at least should have known—that the patch raised users’ risk of stroke, pulmonary embolism, blood clotting and even death. The company’s knowledge of these risks and its failure to inform consumers constitutes reckless disregard, according to the lawsuit.