Johnson & Johnson recently agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle allegations that its Ortho Evra birth control patch was responsible for the death of a 14-year-old Wisconsin girl. Just two weeks ago, J&J settled a separate lawsuit over a death allegedly caused by the patch as well. In fact, J&J has settled dozens of cases already, most likely to avoid embarrassing testimonial that might have been presented at trial. The company has been accused of overlooking evidence that the patch causes unsafe levels of estrogen in women.

In the late 90′s, a former employee blew the whistle on the company and cited “dangerously high levels of estrogen” in the Ortho Evra patch. Later, in 2005, the FDA announced that the patch exposed women to about 60 percent higher levels of estrogen than the average daily oral contraception pill. High levels of estrogen can result in strokes, blood clots and heart attacks – which, as a matter of fact, are the very reasons that 2,400 other women have sued J&J. Most complained of blood clots in the legs and lungs, according to one Bloomberg report.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Associated Press obtained information from the FDA revealing that women on the Ortho Evra patch are three times as likely to experience a blood clot or die compared to those using oral contraceptives. Although not admitting guilt, J&J has required signed confidentiality agreements from each of the plaintiffs in the settlements.