Paragard Lawsuit — November 2026 Status: 4,104 Paragard IUD breakage cases were pending in federal MDL 2974 (Northern District of Georgia, Judge Leigh Martin May) on November 2, 2026, according to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The first bellwether trial ended in a verdict for Teva in February 2026. The second, Robere v. Teva, is set for April 12, 2027. A preemption question has been certified for appeal, and no settlement has been announced. Call 866-837-1010 for a free review of your dates.
The Paragard IUD lawsuit is a group of product liability cases brought by women whose Paragard copper IUD broke when a doctor tried to remove it. An arm snapped off in the office, or nobody noticed until an ultrasound months later showed a piece still inside. Many of these women needed surgery they never planned on. The suits name Teva, which owned Paragard until November 2017, and CooperSurgical, which has owned it since.
Fob & Foster Personal Injury Lawyers review Paragard claims for women in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. This page covers who qualifies, where the federal litigation stands, what the lawsuits allege, whether there is a class action or a settlement, and how each state’s deadline works. On this claim, the dates decide a great deal.
Filing Deadline Warning: A Paragard can stay in place for up to ten years, and that runs straight into state time limits. Tennessee generally allows one year from the injury and bars most product suits more than ten years after the device was first purchased. Georgia generally allows two years and has its own ten-year statute of repose. Alabama generally allows two years. The federal court has already dismissed claims as untimely, including two from Tennessee.
Who Qualifies for a Paragard Lawsuit?
The women who fit the Paragard litigation share a few facts.
Do You Qualify for a Paragard Claim?
You may have a claim if all three are true:
- You had a Paragard copper IUD, not a hormonal IUD such as Mirena or Kyleena.
- It broke during removal, or a piece of it was later found in your body.
- You needed more than a routine office removal: imaging to find the fragment, a hysteroscopy, a laparoscopy, a hysterectomy or other treatment, or a fragment is still inside you.
All three? Call 866-837-1010 or send us a message. Have your insertion and removal dates ready if you can.
Not knowing your lot number, or which clinic placed the device, does not rule you out. The records usually answer those questions. Some things make a claim harder: a device that came out whole, or a removal long ago where you were told at the time that it broke. We will tell you if that is your situation.
Paragard Lawsuit Updates
Latest Update, November 3, 2026: 4,104 Cases Pending; Robere Pretrial Briefing Under Way. The JPML’s November 2, 2026 report lists 4,104 pending actions in MDL 2974 and 4,658 in total since the MDL began. In Robere v. Teva, motions in limine were due October 22, 2026, with responses due November 5. The final pretrial conference is set for March 29, 2027, and the trial for April 12, 2027. No settlement has been announced.
October 20, 2026: 4,224 Cases Pending; Robere Pretrial Deadlines Ahead
The JPML’s October 1, 2026 report lists 4,224 pending actions in MDL 2974. Motions in limine in Robere v. Teva are due October 22, 2026, and the trial is scheduled for April 12, 2027. No settlement has been announced.
September 3, 2026: Teva Wins Preemption Ruling in New Jersey State Court
Teva’s lawyers announced on September 3, 2026 that a New Jersey state court granted Teva summary judgment in a Paragard case, finding the claims preempted. The ruling does not control the federal MDL.
August 26, 2026: Defendants File Second Limitations and Repose Motion
The defendants reportedly filed a second motion to dismiss cases they say are barred by state limitations and repose rules. Which cases it targets has not been publicly detailed, but Tennessee’s ten-year repose rule makes timing a live issue for Tennessee claims.
August 6, 2026: Next Bellwether Cases Selected
The court reportedly selected White, Gutierrez, Rodriguez and Rounds as the next bellwether cases.
June 11, 2026: Teva Petitions the Eleventh Circuit on the Certified Preemption Question
Judge May certified a preemption question for interlocutory appeal, and Teva petitioned the Eleventh Circuit on June 11, 2026. We have not confirmed whether the Eleventh Circuit has agreed to hear it.
February 2026: Defense Verdict in the First Bellwether
After about two weeks of trial in Atlanta, the jury in Rickard v. Teva returned a verdict for Teva.
February 11, 2025: Timeliness Ruling Dismisses Two Tennessee Cases
Judge May dismissed dozens of claims from several states as untimely. Two Tennessee cases were dismissed under Tennessee’s statute of repose, and the court held that fraudulent concealment does not extend that period.
We keep this dated history in one place. Our state pages for Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee carry the latest update and link back here, and our Paragard lawsuit update post summarizes each month.
What Is Paragard, and Why Are Women Suing?
Paragard is a non-hormonal intrauterine device: a small T-shaped plastic frame wrapped with copper. The copper is what prevents pregnancy. A doctor or nurse practitioner places it in the uterus during an office visit, two thin strings hang through the cervix, and it can stay in place for up to ten years.
The problem the lawsuits focus on is removal. Women and their doctors expect the device to fold and slide out when the strings are pulled. The women suing say theirs did not. One or both arms broke off, and the broken piece stayed behind in the uterus, lodged in the uterine wall, or moved somewhere it should not be.
How a Paragard IUD Breaks During Removal
A normal Paragard removal takes a minute or two. The clinician grasps the strings and pulls gently; the arms are supposed to flex upward and the whole device should come out in one piece. The women filing suit allege that the plastic arms can weaken while the device sits in the body for years and then snap under the ordinary force of a routine removal. Those are allegations, and Teva and Cooper deny them.
Breakage does not always announce itself. Sometimes the doctor sees an arm missing and tells you on the spot. Other times the removal note simply says the IUD was removed, and nobody checks whether it came out whole. Those women may learn about a retained fragment much later, when pain, bleeding or trouble getting pregnant leads to an ultrasound or X-ray. The difference between being told at removal and finding out later can change when your filing period started, so write down exactly what you were told and when.
Injuries From a Broken Paragard
The harm in these cases is usually what it takes to find and remove the piece left behind.
- A retained or embedded fragment. A broken arm can stay loose in the uterus, push into the uterine wall or perforate through it, causing cramping, bleeding and pain. Doctors locate it with ultrasound, X-ray and sometimes CT.
- Hysteroscopy. A thin camera is passed through the cervix to see the fragment and pull it out, often under anesthesia.
- Laparoscopy. If the fragment has moved outside the uterus, it generally has to be removed through abdominal surgery, with its own risks of infection, bleeding and scarring.
- Hysterectomy and fertility loss. When a fragment cannot be retrieved or the damage is severe, the answer in some cases is a hysterectomy. Scarring can affect fertility even without one.
Not every broken device leads to surgery. Some fragments are retrieved in the office, and some women are told a small piece can safely be left alone and watched. Those cases are harder to bring, and we will say so. If you have seen a fertility specialist since your removal, those records belong in your file either way.
What the Paragard Lawsuits Allege
Two theories run through the complaints. The first is design and manufacturing defect: that the device’s arms were prone to fracture under the ordinary forces of a routine removal, which every Paragard eventually undergoes. The second is failure to warn: that Teva and CooperSurgical received adverse event reports describing breakage and did not adequately disclose the risk in the labeling doctors and patients relied on.
The label was updated in 2019, after Cooper took over, to state that breakage of an embedded Paragard during non-surgical removal has been reported. For a failure-to-warn claim, what your doctor was told when your device went in is a central question. Which company answers for your device can depend on when it was made and sold. The companies deny the allegations, and the first bellwether jury sided with the defense.
Who Is Being Sued: Teva and CooperSurgical
Two groups of companies are defendants. Teva owned Paragard until November 2017. CooperSurgical and its parent, The Cooper Companies, have owned it since. Which one answers for a particular device can depend on when that device was made and sold, so the insertion date in your records does more than start a clock. It also points to the company whose design, manufacturing and warnings are at issue in your case. Both deny that the device is defective.
Has Paragard Been Recalled?
These lawsuits do not depend on a recall, and a woman does not need a recall notice to have a claim. What changed is the label. Since 2019 the FDA-approved label has stated that breakage of an embedded Paragard during non-surgical removal has been reported. Women whose devices were placed before that change will argue their doctors were never told. Women whose devices were placed after it should expect the defense to point to the new wording.
Is There a Paragard Class Action Lawsuit?
No. The Paragard cases are individual lawsuits grouped in a multidistrict litigation, MDL 2974, for pretrial work. Nobody is included automatically and there is no claim form. Each woman files her own case before her own deadline, and any recovery would be based on her own injuries and records.
Where the Paragard MDL Stands
Federal Paragard cases from around the country are consolidated in MDL 2974 in the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta, before Judge Leigh Martin May.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Cases pending | 4,104 on November 2, 2026 (4,224 on October 1); 4,658 filed in total |
| First bellwether | Rickard v. Teva: verdict for Teva, February 2026, after about two weeks of trial |
| Second bellwether | Robere v. Teva: final pretrial conference March 29, 2027; trial April 12, 2027 |
| Next bellwether group | White, Gutierrez, Rodriguez and Rounds, reportedly selected August 6, 2026 |
| Preemption | Question certified for appeal to the Eleventh Circuit in June 2026; Teva petitioned June 11 |
| Settlement | None announced |
We will not dress up the first result. A bellwether verdict does not decide anyone else’s case, but it affects how both sides value claims. The cases are being contested hard and will be won on their facts.
The Preemption Fight
Teva argues that federal law preempts some of the women’s state-law claims, meaning federal regulation of the device would override them. In June 2026 Judge May certified a preemption question for interlocutory appeal, and Teva petitioned the Eleventh Circuit on June 11. We have not confirmed whether that court has agreed to hear it. Separately, Teva’s lawyers announced on September 3, 2026 that a New Jersey state court had granted Teva summary judgment in a Paragard case on preemption grounds. That ruling does not bind the federal MDL, but an Eleventh Circuit decision could shape which claims survive.
Has the Paragard Lawsuit Been Settled?
No. No settlement has been announced, and anyone quoting an average Paragard settlement is guessing. Our article on Paragard lawsuit settlement amounts explains what would decide the value of a claim: the treatment required, fertility, a fragment still inside you, medical bills and lost work, when the device was placed, and the state of the MDL.
If the cases do resolve, it will not be one check split evenly. Mass tort settlements usually run through a claims process in which each woman submits her records and is placed by the severity of her injury. The attorney fee, case costs and any repayment owed to a health plan that paid for the surgery come out of the gross amount, and each woman decides for herself whether to accept.
What a Paragard Claim Can Recover
A recovery in these cases is built from what the breakage cost you:
- The medical bills for imaging, hysteroscopy, laparoscopy or a hysterectomy, and for care still to come
- Time lost from work for the procedures and recovery
- Pain, and the strain of living with a fragment that has not been removed
- Loss of fertility, weighed against your age and your plans when it happened
State law shapes the total. Tennessee, for example, limits some categories of damages, and every state’s deadline affects how the defense values a claim. We go through those rules with you against your own records.
How a Paragard Claim Works, Step by Step
- A date check. We start with your insertion date, your removal date and what you were told at removal.
- Records. With your permission we request the insertion and removal notes, imaging and any operative reports. You pay nothing up front.
- Filing. If the claim is timely and fits, a complaint is filed in your name and joins MDL 2974 in Atlanta.
- The shared pretrial process. Your case moves with the others through discovery and the bellwether trials. Most women never travel.
- Your decision. If a settlement is ever offered, you decide whether to accept it.
How Long Do You Have to File?
- Alabama: generally two years (Ala. Code § 6-2-38), with the clock generally running from the fracture and resulting injury. Alabama does not impose a fixed statute of repose that cuts off product claims a set number of years after sale. See our Alabama Paragard page.
- Georgia: generally two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33), plus a ten-year statute of repose on certain product liability claims measured from the first sale. Georgia treats failure-to-warn claims differently under the repose. See our Georgia Paragard page.
- Tennessee: generally one year from the injury (Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-104), and a statute of repose (§ 29-28-103) that can bar a claim ten years after the device was first purchased. See our Tennessee Paragard page.
On February 11, 2025, the MDL court dismissed dozens of claims from several states as untimely, including two Tennessee cases under the repose rule, and held that fraudulent concealment does not extend that period. The defendants reportedly filed a second such motion in August 2026. Timing is where Paragard claims are most often lost.
Records That Prove a Paragard Claim
| Record | Where to get it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Insertion visit note | The office or clinic that placed the IUD | Shows the device was Paragard and the insertion date |
| Removal visit note | The practice that removed the device | Documents the break and whether you were told |
| Imaging reports and images | Radiology department or imaging center | Locates the fragment and shows whether it was embedded or had moved |
| Operative reports | The hospital or surgery center | Describes what the surgeon found and what it took to remove the piece |
| Pathology report | The hospital pathology department | Confirms what was removed from your body |
The single most important document is usually the removal note or operative report that describes the device as broken, not intact, or missing an arm.
What to Do This Week
- Ask your gynecologist’s office for the insertion and removal notes.
- Request any imaging and operative reports from after the removal.
- Write down what you were told at the removal visit, and the date.
- If you have seen a fertility specialist since, add those records to your file.
How We Handle Paragard Claims
- Dates first. Before anything else we look at your insertion and removal dates against your state’s limits.
- You speak with a lawyer. Fob James IV is licensed in Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
- No fee unless we recover for you. The review costs nothing, and we request the records.
- A direct answer. If we do not think your case is worth pursuing, we say so.
Paragard IUD Lawyers for Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee
We are a Birmingham firm with a second office in Mobile, and we review copper IUD lawsuit claims from across Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee by phone or video. If you searched for a Paragard lawyer or Paragard attorney near you in Nashville, Atlanta or Huntsville, you do not need an office down the street. The federal cases are handled together in Atlanta, a short drive from Chattanooga and a few hours from Birmingham. What you do need is someone who will look at your state’s limits first: one year and a ten-year cutoff in Tennessee, two years and a ten-year repose in Georgia, two years in Alabama.
Paragard Lawsuit FAQs
Is there a Paragard lawsuit?
Yes. Women whose Paragard copper IUD broke during removal have sued Teva and CooperSurgical. The federal cases are in MDL 2974 in Atlanta, where 4,104 were pending as of November 2, 2026.
Is there a Paragard class action lawsuit?
No. Each woman files her own lawsuit. The cases are grouped in MDL 2974 for pretrial work only, and each claim is valued on its own facts.
Has the Paragard lawsuit been settled?
No. No settlement has been announced. The first bellwether trial ended in a verdict for Teva in February 2026, and the second trial is set for April 12, 2027.
Who qualifies for a Paragard lawsuit?
Generally, a woman whose Paragard copper IUD broke during removal, or who later learned a piece was left behind, and who needed more than a routine office removal or still has a fragment inside her.
What injuries are in the Paragard lawsuits?
A retained or embedded fragment, and what it takes to find and remove it: imaging, hysteroscopy, laparoscopic surgery and in some cases a hysterectomy. Some women report lasting pain or loss of fertility.
Has Paragard been recalled?
The lawsuits do not depend on a recall. Since 2019 the Paragard label has stated that breakage of an embedded Paragard during non-surgical removal has been reported.
My Paragard was removed whole. Do I have a claim?
Probably not. These cases are about devices that broke. A device that came out intact, without a retained piece, generally does not fit the litigation.
How long do I have to file a Paragard lawsuit?
It depends on your state. Alabama and Georgia generally allow two years and Tennessee one year. Georgia and Tennessee also have ten-year outer limits that can bar a claim on a device placed long ago.
How much is a Paragard lawsuit worth?
No one can say yet. Nothing has settled and the only trial ended in a defense verdict, so any average quoted online is a guess. Value depends on the treatment required, fertility, and your state’s law.
Do I have to go to Atlanta?
Generally no. An MDL case usually moves through the shared pretrial process without you traveling. A woman would likely testify in Atlanta only if her case were picked for trial.
Talk to a Paragard Lawsuit Lawyer
If your Paragard broke during removal, call Fob & Foster Personal Injury Lawyers at 866-837-1010 or request a free case review online. Give us your insertion and removal dates and we will tell you whether your state’s deadlines leave room to file. There is no fee unless we recover for you.