Paragard Lawsuit — August 2026 Status: 4,111 Paragard IUD fracture lawsuits were pending as of July 15, 2026 in a federal MDL seated in Atlanta (MDL 2974, Northern District of Georgia, Judge Leigh Martin May). The next bellwether trial, Robere v. Teva, is set for September 28, 2026. Georgia women generally have two years from injury to file. Free case review: (205) 407-6009.
Paragard is the only hormone-free copper IUD sold in the United States, marketed for decades as safe for up to ten years of continuous use. But thousands of women report the same terrifying experience: when the time came to remove the device, an arm of the T-shaped frame snapped off — leaving a copper fragment embedded in the uterus that could not be retrieved without surgery. Since 2010, the FDA has received more than 2,800 reports of Paragard breakage.
What Paragard Is, and Why Removal Goes Wrong
Paragard is a T-shaped intrauterine device wrapped in copper wire. It contains no hormones, which is exactly why many women choose it, and it can stay in place for up to ten years. Removal is supposed to be simple: a doctor pulls the string, the flexible arms fold upward, and the device slides out intact.
The lawsuits are about what happens when it does not. Women across the country report that one or both arms snapped off during removal, leaving copper fragments embedded in the uterine wall or migrating elsewhere in the pelvis. Plaintiffs allege the plastic becomes brittle during years inside the body and that the device was designed and manufactured so that breakage was foreseeable. They further allege the manufacturers knew from adverse event reports that breakage was happening at meaningful rates and failed to warn patients or the physicians removing these devices.
The Litigation Is Happening in Georgia’s Federal Court
Every federal Paragard case in the country is consolidated in MDL 2974 before Judge Leigh Martin May in the Northern District of Georgia, in Atlanta. For Georgia women, this is home-court litigation: the depositions, hearings, and bellwether trials that will decide the value of these claims are happening in your state.
Where things stand (August 2026): 4,111 cases were pending as of mid-July. The first bellwether trial ended in a defense verdict for Teva in February 2026 — a setback, not an ending. The second trial, Robere v. Teva, begins September 28, 2026, the court is selecting four more bellwethers spanning both the Teva and CooperSurgical ownership periods, and an appeal on federal preemption is pending. No global settlement exists, and case values will be shaped by the trials ahead.
Where the Bellwether Trials Stand
An MDL does not try thousands of cases individually. It selects a handful of representative bellwether cases, tries them, and lets both sides learn what juries do with the evidence. In the first Paragard bellwether, decided in February 2026, the jury returned a verdict for Teva.
That result matters, and it should be reported honestly rather than buried: it means these cases will be tried hard and won on their facts, not settled automatically. It does not decide anyone else’s case, and additional bellwethers remain scheduled. The next, Robere v. Teva, is set for September 28, 2026, and it is the outcome the entire litigation is currently watching. Women weighing whether to come forward should understand both that this is contested litigation and that filing deadlines run regardless of how any trial turns out.
What the Lawsuits Allege
Two theories run through the Paragard 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 is the one thing every Paragard is guaranteed to undergo eventually. The second is failure to warn: that Teva and CooperSurgical received thousands of adverse event reports describing breakage and did not adequately disclose that risk in the labeling doctors and patients relied on. Reporting on FDA adverse event data has described thousands of breakage reports accumulating over the years the device has been on the market. The companies deny the allegations, and the first bellwether jury sided with the defense.
Who May Qualify for a Paragard Claim in Georgia
- You had a Paragard IUD implanted (2005 or later); and
- The device broke during or before removal, typically one or both copper arms; and
- A fragment was retained in your body, requiring surgical removal (hysteroscopy, D&C, laparoscopy, or in severe cases hysterectomy), or your doctor has recommended surgery you have not yet had, or surgery is medically inadvisable because of fertility risks.
Claims are generally strongest when the device was implanted less than ten years before the removal attempt and the breakage caused real medical intervention, not cases where all pieces came out in the office with no injury.
Injuries Paragard Fractures Cause
Retained copper fragments can embed in the uterine wall, perforate the uterus, and migrate. Women in the litigation report surgical removals, infections, chronic pelvic pain, scarring that threatens fertility, and hysterectomy in the worst cases. Paragard’s label warns about breakage only in the narrowest terms. Plaintiffs allege Teva and CooperSurgical knew the true fracture risk and failed to warn women and their doctors.
Treatment After a Paragard Fractures
What comes next depends on where the fragment goes, and the escalation is what makes these cases serious. Some fragments can be retrieved in an office procedure with a hysteroscope. Others are embedded in the uterine wall and require surgery under anesthesia, sometimes laparoscopic, sometimes open. A fragment that perforates the uterus or migrates into the abdomen can require more extensive surgery to locate and remove. In the hardest cases, women have undergone hysterectomy, ending fertility permanently.
Some women are told to leave a fragment in place and monitor it. That, too, has consequences worth documenting: ongoing pain, bleeding, infection risk, and the knowledge of a copper fragment left inside the body. Whatever path your doctors chose, the operative reports and pathology records describing the retrieved piece are the backbone of your claim.
Evidence That Builds a Paragard Claim
The single most valuable item is the device itself, or the fragment, if it was retrieved and preserved. Ask your surgeon or the hospital whether it was kept; facilities often retain explanted devices, and pathology may have documented it. Beyond that, the file is built from your implantation and removal records, operative reports from any surgery to retrieve a fragment, imaging such as ultrasound or CT showing the fragment’s location, pathology reports, and documentation of what followed: the infections, the fertility treatment, the hysterectomy. Records of missed work and the personal toll matter as well. If you do not have these records, we obtain them for you, and if the device was discarded, cases still proceed on the medical record.
The Georgia Filing Deadline
Georgia’s statute of limitations for personal injury is generally two years (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33), typically running from the date the device broke or the injury was discovered. If your Paragard fractured on removal, even years after implantation, your window is likely still open, but it is closing. Call before the date passes.
The Second Clock: Georgia’s Statute of Repose
Georgia applies a second deadline that surprises people, and it matters enormously in Paragard cases because these devices were often implanted many years before they broke. Alongside the two-year personal injury deadline, Georgia law imposes a ten-year statute of repose on certain product liability claims, measured from the first sale of the product rather than from the date you were hurt. In plain terms, one clock runs from your injury and another can run from long before it.
There is important nuance here. Georgia courts treat failure-to-warn claims differently from strict liability design claims under the repose, and there is a recognized exception for certain latent injuries. Whether either helps you depends on when your device was sold and implanted, when it fractured, and how your claim is pleaded. This is genuinely fact-specific law, and it is the single best reason not to sit on a Paragard case: the analysis takes a lawyer looking at your actual dates, and it takes them looking soon.
What Paragard Cases May Be Worth
No global settlement exists in the Paragard MDL, and the first bellwether trial ended in a defense verdict. Any figure you see quoted online as a Paragard settlement amount is an estimate, not a reported result, and you should treat it accordingly.
What honestly drives value in these cases is the severity of what the fracture caused. A fragment retrieved in a simple office procedure sits at one end. Surgery under anesthesia, perforation of the uterus, infection, loss of fertility, or a hysterectomy sit at the other, and they carry medical costs, lost income, and profound personal loss that a jury can be asked to value. Documentation of the retained fragment and the surgery it required is what separates a strong file from a weak one. We will give you an honest read after reviewing your records, and we will tell you if we think you do not have a case.
Paragard Litigation Updates
September 2026 — Next Trial Approaching. Robere v. Teva is scheduled to begin September 28, 2026. It is the next real pressure point in this litigation: a plaintiff verdict would change settlement dynamics substantially, while a second defense win would strengthen Teva’s position. Women considering a claim should not wait for the outcome, because deadlines do not pause for trials.
August 2026 — Case count. More than 4,100 cases were pending in MDL 2974 in the most recent federal reporting, and new filings continue.
February 2026 — First bellwether verdict. Teva prevailed in the first bellwether trial. A bellwether is a test case, not a ruling on anyone else’s claim, and additional trials remain scheduled. The result did, however, signal that these cases will be tried hard.
Ongoing — Settlement talks. The court has had a mediator involved in settlement discussions; no global resolution has been announced.
What Filing a Paragard Lawsuit Actually Requires of You
Most women are surprised how little of this lands on them. You provide your medical records and the account of what happened, and we do the collection work. At some point you will likely answer written questions and sit for a deposition, which we prepare you for thoroughly. Your case is filed into the MDL in Atlanta and coordinated with the others, so common issues are litigated once rather than 4,100 times. You do not go to court unless your case is selected for trial, which happens to a small fraction of cases. You decide whether to accept any settlement offer, always.
Why Call Fob James Law Firm
We represent women across Georgia in device and drug injury claims, and our attorneys work alongside the national teams litigating MDL 2974 in Atlanta. Our women’s health litigation practice includes Depo-Provera and hair relaxer claims. No fee unless we recover for you.
Paragard Lawsuit FAQs
Is there a Paragard settlement?
No. As of August 2026 there is no global Paragard settlement. The litigation is in its bellwether-trial phase. The first trial ended in a defense verdict in February 2026 and the second begins September 28, 2026. Those results will shape any future settlement.
My Paragard broke years after it was implanted. Do I still have a case?
Possibly. The deadline usually runs from when the device broke or the injury was discovered, not from implantation. Georgia’s two-year window likely started at your removal attempt. An attorney can pin down your date in a free case review.
What does it cost to file a Paragard lawsuit?
Nothing up front. Paragard cases are handled on contingency: free consultation, and we are paid only from a recovery.
Why does it matter that the MDL is in Georgia?
The bellwether trials that set the tone for every Paragard claim are being tried in Atlanta federal court, and Georgia plaintiffs’ cases proceed under the supervision of that same court. Local counsel who know the venue add real value.
Do I need the actual device or fragment to file?
It helps a great deal, but it is not required. Many claims proceed on operative reports, pathology records, and imaging that document the retained fragment. Ask your surgeon or the hospital whether the device was preserved, because facilities often keep explanted devices, and tell us either way.
Teva won the first trial. Is it still worth filing?
Yes. A bellwether is a test case tried on its own facts; it does not decide your claim, and more than 4,100 cases remain pending. The next trial, Robere v. Teva, is set for September 28, 2026. What a defense verdict does mean is that these cases need to be worked properly rather than filed and forgotten.
What if I had a hysterectomy because of the fragment?
Tell us immediately. Cases involving hysterectomy, perforation, infection, or loss of fertility are the most serious in this litigation, and the surgical and pathology records that document them are exactly the proof these claims are built on.
My Paragard was implanted more than ten years ago. Am I too late?
Not necessarily, and do not assume you are. Georgia applies both a two-year injury deadline and a ten-year statute of repose for certain product claims, with meaningful differences in how failure-to-warn claims are treated. The analysis depends on your specific dates, and it takes a lawyer a short conversation to run it.
Do I have to live in Georgia to file in this MDL?
No. MDL 2974 consolidates federal Paragard cases from across the country in Atlanta, so cases arrive there regardless of where the woman lives. Fob James Law Firm handles Paragard claims for women in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.
Talk to a Georgia Paragard Lawyer Today
If your Paragard broke and left fragments behind, you did nothing wrong — the device failed you. Call Fob James Law Firm, LLC at (205) 407-6009 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation. No fee unless we win.