--- title: NuvaRing Settlement: Merck Pays 100 Million Dollars description: Merck & Co. agreed Friday to pay $100 million in product liability lawsuits that claimed its birth control product NuvaRing caused blood clots that led... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7134673/nuvaring-settlement-100-million-dollars/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-07T23:12:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T06:02:40.518Z article:section: Health og:title: NuvaRing Settlement: Merck Pays 100 Million Dollars og:description: Merck & Co. agreed Friday to pay $100 million in product liability lawsuits that claimed its birth control product NuvaRing caused blood clots that led... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7134673/nuvaring-settlement-100-million-dollars/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86acb7a6f633843c/698a922ed07533bc2fe76c22/2488558.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Reproductive Health Convention Showcases Newest Contraceptives og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NuvaRing Settlement: Merck Pays 100 Million Dollars twitter:description: Merck & Co. agreed Friday to pay $100 million in product liability lawsuits that claimed its birth control product NuvaRing caused blood clots that led... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86acb7a6f633843c/698a922ed07533bc2fe76c22/2488558.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Merck to Dole Out $100 Million in NuvaRing Settlement by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 7, 2014 11:12 PM UTC  LA JOLLA, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: Organon representetive Sandy Wingfield shows-off a NuvaRing contraceptive September 12, 2003 at the Association of Reproductive Health Professional convention in La Jolla, California. The NuvaRing is monthly vaginal insert that slowly releases Estrogen. The convention showcased the newest innovations in contraceptive drugs and devices and had lectures on reproductive health issues by prominent scientists.(Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) LA JOLLA, CA - SEPTEMBER 12: Organon representetive Sandy Wingfield shows-off a NuvaRing contraceptive September 12, 2003 at the Association of Reproductive Health Professional convention in La Jolla, California. The NuvaRing is monthly vaginal insert that slowly releases Estrogen. The convention showcased the newest innovations in contraceptive drugs and devices and had lectures on reproductive health issues by prominent scientists.(Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)Getty Images—2003 Getty Images by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Feb 7, 2014 11:12 PM UTC Merck & Co. agreed Friday to [pay $100 million](http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-merck-nuvaring-20140207,0,2582428.story) in product liability lawsuits that claimed its birth control product NuvaRing caused blood clots that led in some instances to fatal heart attacks, Reuters reports. NuvaRing, a vaginal ring that acts as a hormonal contraceptive and contains estrogen and progestin as commonly found in birth control pills, has been associated with an increased risk of developing blood clots that can cause heart attack, stroke, or sudden death. Merck, which is the second-largest drug manufacturer in the U.S., denied any fault under the agreement. But 3,000 people are eligible to participate in the settlement, and 95% of those women will have to participate in order for the deal to take effect. Merck is getting off easy compared with similar birth control company settlements. Bayer paid nearly $1.6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits last year surrounding its Yaz and Yazmin birth control pills, which plaintiffs claimed also led to blood clots, heart attacks, and strokes. \[[Reuters](http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-rt-us-merck-nuvaring-20140207,0,2582428.story)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7134673/nuvaring-settlement-100-million-dollars/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7134673/nuvaring-settlement-100-million-dollars/"},"headline":"Merck to Dole Out $100 Million in NuvaRing Settlement","datePublished":"2014-02-07T23:12:23.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T06:02:40.518Z","description":"Merck & Co. agreed Friday to pay $100 million in product liability lawsuits that claimed its birth control product NuvaRing caused blood clots that led...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7134673/nuvaring-settlement-100-million-dollars/","keywords":["Settlement"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86acb7a6f633843c/698a922ed07533bc2fe76c22/2488558.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86acb7a6f633843c/698a922ed07533bc2fe76c22/2488558.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Reproductive Health Convention Showcases Newest Contraceptives","caption":"Reproductive Health Convention Showcases Newest Contraceptives","creditText":"Getty Images—2003 Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7134673/nuvaring-settlement-100-million-dollars/","name":"Merck to Dole Out $100 Million in NuvaRing Settlement"}}]}] ```