On August 1, 2012, the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division upheld a state court’s dismissal of a Nuvaring lawsuit for failure to file the suit within the statute of limitations. Although the timeframe varies based on the state and the cause of action, a statute of limitations is the maximum length of time after an event occurs that a plaintiff has to initiate legal proceedings. Failure to file a lawsuit within the applicable time will forever bar a plaintiff’s chance at recovery.

In Millian v. Organon USA Inc., et al., Virginia resident, Stephanie Millian, allegedly suffered injuries related to a blood clot in November 2005, which the hospital physician attributed, at least in part, to her use of Nuvaring. However, Millian did not file her lawsuit in New Jersey state court until November 2011, approximately six years following her injury.

Organon USA Inc., the manufacturer of Nuvaring, successfully argued that Millian failed to file her lawsuit within the permitted timeframe. The Appellate Division, agreeing with the lower court’s dismissal, concluded that Millian “knew, or by the exercise of reasonable diligence and intelligence should have discovered, more than two years before she filed her complaint, that she had a basis for an actionable claim against defendants.” Moreover, the court opined that Millian was “aware of facts that should have alerted her to the possibilities that [NuvaRing’s manufacturer] may have caused or contributed to her injuries and that [NuvaRing’s manufacturer’s] conduct may have been lacking in due care.”

The dismissal of Millian’s lawsuit stresses the importance of seeking legal representation as soon as you suspect that Nuvaring may have been responsible for your injury.

If you, or someone you know, has experienced an injury as a result of using Nuvaring, you can contact Stark & Stark and speak to one of the Mass Tort/Pharmaceutical Litigation attorneys, free of charge, who can help assess any claims that you might have against the manufacturer of Nuvaring.