Preemption-based defenses do not eliminate the need to examine corporate conduct. The evidence will address whether the science and safety data supported stronger warnings earlier, and whether patients were deprived of information necessary to make informed healthcare decisions.
The Human Impact Behind The Litigation
It is easy in MDL litigation to become consumed by schedules, motions, and expert reports. But the cases are about people. Many plaintiffs used Depo-Provera for years, relying on it as a convenient and physician-recommended form of contraception. When those same individuals later faced brain surgery or permanent neurological symptoms, they were left with the same question:“ Why wasn’ t I warned?”
These cases are not about informed patients who accepted a disclosed risk and later regretted it. They are about whether known— or knowable— risks were communicated responsibly and transparently at the time those decisions were being made.
Looking Ahead
Over the next 18 months, the Depo-Provera MDL will move through pivotal phases, including completion of expert discovery, liability and case specific discovery, dispositive motions, trial preparation and trial. Each step will shape the trajectory of the litigation and may influence how similar claims are handled going forward. Based on the Court’ s schedule, by the middle of next year we will have potentially presented all five of the pilot cases to a jury.
With the MDL now proceeding on a fast track— and with a mandated warning now in place on the product— the Depo-Provera litigation will test the evidence and corporate accountability on an accelerated timetable. The outcome will be decided in court. But the path forward for these women is no longer uncertain.
Virginia Buchanan is a shareholder at Levin Papantonio. In March 2026, she was appointed Co-Chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee and a member of the Trial Subcommittee for MDL No. 3140, IN RE: DEPO-PROVERA( DEPOT MEDROXYPROGESTERONE ACETATE) PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION.
Gideon Asen represents victims of life-changing personal injury, medical malpractice, and commercial trucking and vehicle accidents in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. As a member of 1 % for the Planet, Gideon Asen donates one percent of all fees generated to environmental nonprofits to help ensure the wonders of Northern New England are preserved for future generations.
GideonAsen. com
66 The Trial Lawyer