The New York Post, “Patch Gals Suing; Birth-Control Danger”

          Ten women are uniting to sue the maker of a popular birth-control patch, saying the device caused them to suffer strokes and blood clots, The Post has learned.
          The suit, expected to be filed tomorrow in Superior Court in Hudson County, N.J., charges that the Ortho-Evra contraceptive patch - worn by millions in the U.S. - was "defectively designed" and is "unreasonably dangerous."
          It seeks punitive damages against New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson, whose subsidiary Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical makes the patch and markets it with sexy ads, supermodels and Olympic athletes.
          "We're disappointed the patch continues to be sold and heavily advertised as safe when statistics show it's six times more dangerous than the safest pill on the market," said Ray Chester, a Texas attorney filing the suit with a Newark law firm.
          The patch, worn on the skin, delivers pregnancy-blocking hormones. There's been concern since April 2004, when aspiring model Zakiya Kennedy collapsed in a subway station and died of a blood clot to the lung. The medical examiner blamed the patch, which the 18-year- old had worn briefly.
          Zakiya's mom just filed a multimillion-dollar wrongful-death suit against Johnson & Johnson and Mount Sinai Hospital, where a doctor prescribed the patch.
          The latest suit includes women ages 19 to 47 from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, Ohio and Oklahoma.
          The lead plaintiff, Jersey City's Nokeima Holloway, was 23 when she first used the patch in 2003 after having a baby. Within weeks, her legs hurt, she told The Post. Doctors discovered a large clot in her calf.
           Nancy McGraw, a violin teacher in Little Rock, Ark., began using the patch last year after seeing it advertised as "convenient for the busy woman," since it need be changed just once a week. The nonsmoker soon suffered a stroke.