Depo-Provera Lawsuit
(Meningioma Brain Tumor)

The parties reported a global settlement in principle on June 15, 2026 and signed the Master Settlement Agreement on July 21, 2026. The terms are private and confidential. BrownGreer PLC is the Settlement Administrator, eligible claimants must register by November 30, 2026, and payments are expected to begin rolling out by the first quarter of 2027. Because this is an MDL rather than a class action, there is no court fairness review. The settlement does not resolve every case.

No settlement amount has been released. The agreement is private and confidential, and neither the total value nor any per-plaintiff amount has been made public. Pfizer's second-quarter 10-Q describes the terms as "not material to the Company's liquidity or financial condition" without disclosing an amount. We do not publish projected or estimated settlement figures, because doing so would not be grounded in any verified source.

No. The agreement covers "a majority of the claims in the MDL and New York state court," and the parties estimate that about 80% of MDL plaintiffs are eligible, so it will not resolve every case. Under CMO 14, its no-fee administrative docket is open only to eligible claimants who signed with a lawyer on or before June 11, 2026. Plaintiffs who are ineligible because of their filing date ("Limitations") or diagnosis timing relative to last use ("Latency") are separate groups, and non-settling, ineligible and newly filed plaintiffs continue in the litigation.

No. Pfizer has stated that the agreement contains no admission of liability or wrongdoing, that it intends to continue defending any remaining claims, and that it maintains Depo-Provera is safe and effective. Settling is not an admission of fault.

Yes, but the settlement's no-fee administrative docket is open only to eligible claimants who signed with a lawyer on or before June 11, 2026 (CMO 14). Under CMO 14, newly filed plaintiffs must send records-preservation notices within 60 days, serve case-specific expert reports within 90 days, mediate, and attend an in-person conference in Pensacola, and new filers diagnosed before March 27, 2024 must file a statute-of-limitations certification within 30 days. Deadlines to file vary by state, so anyone considering a claim should speak with a licensed attorney about the deadline that applies to them.

According to the 2025 JAMA Neurology study, increased risk was primarily seen in patients with more than 4 years of exposure. Meningiomas are typically slow-growing tumors that can take years to develop and become symptomatic. Some women are diagnosed years after stopping Depo-Provera use. Timing can also matter legally: CMO 14 treats plaintiffs who are ineligible for the settlement because of diagnosis timing relative to last use as a separate "Latency" group.

No. Most meningiomas (Grade 1) are non-malignant (non-cancerous), though they can still cause serious symptoms depending on their location and size. Only Grade 3 meningiomas are considered malignant. However, even non-malignant meningiomas often require surgery—brain surgery carries significant risks regardless of whether the tumor is cancerous.

This is a central question in the litigation. Plaintiffs allege that Pfizer knew or should have known about the meningioma risk earlier but delayed seeking label changes. The warning was added 33 years after initial approval and nearly 2 years after the key BMJ study was published in March 2024.

Depo-Provera remains FDA-approved and available. The decision to use it should be made with your healthcare provider after discussing the risks and benefits. The 2025 JAMA study calculated a "number needed to harm" of 1,152, meaning the absolute risk is relatively low. However, the new FDA warning advises discontinuation if meningioma is diagnosed.

Most Depo-Provera attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning they only get paid if you win or settle your case. The fee is typically a percentage of the recovery. Initial consultations are usually free, allowing you to understand your options without any upfront cost.

Pfizer's biggest defense argument is called "federal preemption." In simple terms, Pfizer is saying: "The FDA controlled what we could put on our drug label, so you can't sue us under state law for not warning about meningioma — we couldn't have added that warning without FDA approval." Plaintiffs counter that Pfizer could have asked the FDA for a label change years earlier and chose not to. The fact that the FDA approved a meningioma warning in December 2025 significantly weakens Pfizer's position. The court postponed its ruling on June 15, 2026 (PTO 30A), and under CMO 12 any ruling will apply only to ineligible plaintiffs and opt-outs, not to claims resolved through the settlement.

A Daubert hearing (named after a 1993 Supreme Court case) is where the judge acts as a gatekeeper for scientific evidence. Before expert testimony can be presented at trial, the judge must determine that the expert's methods are scientifically reliable. In this MDL, Pfizer is challenging the plaintiffs' experts who say Depo-Provera causes meningioma. The June 15, 2026 order moved the hearing from June 24-25 to July 27, 2026, but July 27 was held as the court's 12th case management conference instead. CMO 12 then set the general-causation hearing for September 18, 2026. Under CMO 12, causation and preemption rulings will apply only to plaintiffs who are ineligible for or opt out of the settlement.

A bellwether trial is essentially a test run. Out of thousands of cases, a few are selected to go to trial first. The results don't technically apply to other cases, but they give both sides a preview of how juries will view the evidence. A big plaintiff verdict often leads to settlement negotiations. In this MDL, five bellwether trials were planned, starting with Toney v. Pfizer on December 7, 2026 — but the parties reached a global settlement in principle on June 15, 2026, before any test trial, and Judge Rodgers vacated the first trial's deadlines.

Your case keeps its own identity, but what you need to do now depends on whether you are in the settlement. Eligible claimants who signed with a lawyer on or before June 11, 2026 must register by November 30, 2026 (CMO 14). Under CMO 14, non-settling, ineligible and newly filed plaintiffs must send records-preservation notices within 60 days, serve case-specific expert reports within 90 days, mediate, and attend an in-person conference in Pensacola. The court's preemption and causation rulings will apply only to ineligible plaintiffs and opt-outs (CMO 12). Your specific facts (how long you used Depo-Provera, the severity of your meningioma, your treatment history) still matter.