You used Depo-Provera. You developed a meningioma. Now you're wondering whether you have a case—and what pursuing one actually looks like.
What These Cases Are About
Depo-Provera lawsuits center on one key allegation: the manufacturer knew or should have known about the meningioma risk and failed to warn patients. This isn't about whether the drug worked as contraception—it did. It's about whether women received the information they needed to make informed choices about their health. The legal theories include failure to warn, negligence in monitoring and communicating safety information, and in some cases, claims that a safer formulation was feasible.
Do You Have a Case?
The basic elements come down to three things. First, you need to have actually used Depo-Provera, ideally with documentation from medical records, pharmacy records, or insurance claims showing your prescriptions and injection history. The stronger your documentation of extended use, the stronger your case.
Second, you need a meningioma diagnosis—a tumor of the meninges confirmed by brain imaging and ideally by pathology if you had surgery. Other brain tumor types aren't part of this litigation because the scientific connection is specific to meningiomas and their progesterone receptors.
Third, the timing needs to make sense. Your Depo-Provera use should have preceded your diagnosis, and medical experts need to be able to draw a plausible line between your usage pattern and your tumor. This is where attorneys and their medical consultants evaluate whether your case fits the litigation.
What Happens After You File
Most Depo-Provera cases are being consolidated in multidistrict litigation, which means cases from across the country get grouped together for pretrial proceedings. This isn't a class action—you still have an individual case with your own facts and damages—but the process is coordinated to handle common issues efficiently.
The typical progression starts with your attorney filing a complaint laying out your allegations. Then comes discovery, where both sides exchange documents, take depositions, and hire experts. Eventually, a few test cases go to trial as bellwethers to see how juries respond. Settlement negotiations often intensify after those verdicts come in, as both sides have real data about case values.
Realistic timeline: three to five years from filing to resolution. Pharmaceutical litigation moves slowly, but filing now preserves your claim and positions you for eventual recovery.
What You Might Recover
Compensation depends on your specific circumstances. Cases involving brain surgery typically command higher values because surgery means significant medical costs, recovery time, surgical risks, and the trauma of having your skull opened. Cases with permanent neurological deficits—cognitive changes, vision problems, ongoing seizures—are worth more because the damages are ongoing. Even women whose meningiomas are being monitored rather than removed may have claims for the anxiety, the repeated MRIs, and the looming possibility of future surgery.
When settlements eventually happen, they'll likely be structured in tiers based on injury severity. The most serious cases—multiple surgeries, permanent deficits, death—will receive more than cases managed with monitoring alone. This is standard in pharmaceutical mass torts.
Finding the Right Attorney
Look for specific experience with pharmaceutical litigation, not just general personal injury. These cases require resources to take on a major drug company—money for experts, document review, and years of litigation before any recovery. Make sure the firm works on contingency, meaning you pay nothing unless you win. Most offer free consultations, and you should use that time to ask how many Depo-Provera cases they're handling and what they honestly think of your situation.
Don't Wait
Statutes of limitations restrict how long you have to file. These deadlines vary by state and typically run from when you discovered that Depo-Provera may have caused your meningioma. Given that warnings only recently appeared on the label, many women are still within their windows—but don't assume. The only way to know your specific deadline is to consult an attorney who can evaluate your state's laws and your particular timeline.