Kristiana Tweed Burrell, whose stillborn daughter Ariel Grace inspired the name of a bill that would have enhanced a victim's ability to sue medical device manufacturers, has filed a lawsuit in North Carolina against Bayer Corp. for damages caused by its sterilization implant Essure.
The complaint alleges medical malpractice, negligence and wrongful death. It was filed Dec. 16 on behalf of Burrell, as an individual and as the administrator of her daughter's estate, in Buncombe County, N.C.
In addition to Bayer, the civil suit names Christopher Ford Williams, a sales representative of the pharmaceutical company, Burrell's obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Stacy D. Travis, and Biltmore Ob-Gyn, the practice Travis founded in 1995, as defendants.
In other cases filed against Bayer over injuries related to Essure, the company has claimed it is not liable because a federal agency approved the device. This idea, known as federal preemption, could effectively grant Bayer immunity, but lawyers are optimistic that it won't.
Essure is a sterilization device consisting of tiny metal coils that are implanted in a woman's fallopian tubes. Scar tissue is supposed to grow around them, forming a barrier to block sperm and prevent eggs from being fertilized.
In December 2013, Travis implanted Burrell with the Essure device. Two subsequent tests, however, showed it wasn't working, with the left fallopian tube not fully blocked. Despite using other forms of birth control, she became pregnant.
Late one night in June 2015, Burrell began bleeding and suffering pain in her abdomen. Then, her water broke, and she partially delivered a breech baby while still at home. She delivered a stillborn girl, whom she and her husband named Ariel Grace, at 24 to 27 weeks.
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