If you or someone you love suffers from DES - diethylstilbestrol effects or infertility, Aaron M. Levine & Associates can provide the legal help you need. We have fought for DES mothers and daughters for 50 years and our success is measured in millions in recovery, and in enabling our clients to afford adoptions, IVF and surrogacy to create the family they deserve.
How does DES cause infertility and miscarriages?
Given the multiple birth defects that are seen in DES daughters, it is not surprising that the ability to conceive and deliver a pregnancy to term would be severely limited. Unfortunately, the scourge of DES is not going away and the effects its widespread administration decades ago are still being felt today. DES daughters suffer from a myriad of reproductive tract abnormalities and malformations. Not only is term pregnancy less likely after intrauterine DES exposure, but so is the increased risk of delivering a child who has third-generation as a proximal result of preterm delivery caused by DES.
DES daughters must follow a lifetime course of continued vigilance in routine OB/GYN examinations and DES.
Common signs of DES Effects and infertility include:
- T-Shaped Uterus
- Adenosis
- Clear Cell-Adenocarcinoma Cancer of the Vagina and Cervix
- Intraepithelial Dysplasia and Neoplasia of the Vagina and Cervix
- Uterine Constriction
- Incompetent Cervix
- Hooded (cockscomb) or Rimmed Cervix
- Life-threatening Ectopic Pregnancies
- Breast Cancer
DES Mechanism of Action in Utero
DES (diethylstilbestrol) is a known carcinogen and teratogen. In both animal models and humans, DES causes severe abnormalities to the developing female genital tract. Early in utero, DES changes the appearance and lining characteristics of the developing uterus, cervix and vagina. Normally, these organs develop simultaneously from the Mullerian duct system and differentiate (branch out) into different tissue types based on specific instructions given to them by the supporting soft tissues just beneath them. Normally, the paired embryonic Mullerian ducts fuse into a single uterovaginal tract or canal, the uterine and Fallopian tube mesenchyme (supporting structure) differentiates into inner endometrial and outer myometrial (muscular) layers and there is folding of the tubal endometrial mucosal linings. The vagina develops into a stratified squamous barrier lining.
Finally, there is uterine gland formation that allows for implantation of a fertilized ovum. Under the influence of DES, glandular epithelium or adenosis is found in the vagina, the growth of the upper genital tract is stunted and the inner and outer linings of the uterine body and Fallopian tubes fail to separate. All of these findings are markedly abnormal and have been seen in DES exposed women, leading to infertility.
With normal differentiation, a uterus should be fairly distensible, supple and able to receive a newly fertilized ovum (egg). The cervix and vagina are normally not glandular structures and instead provide structure and support during the birth process. DES changes this entire dynamic with wide ranging complications. Instead of having a developing uterus that is later able to accept a fertilized ovum, the uterus of a DES exposed women is hard, less supple, receives a reduced blood flow.
The cervix and vagina can and often develop glands which may in turn become cancerous. Diethylstilbestrol can lead to multiple other abnormalities including endometriosis and scar tissue in the Fallopian tubes with ectopic pregnancy. If exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol, a woman can expect one or more serious complications during her reproductive life.
We began research in the early 1980s on DES infertility from diethylstilbestrol effects on behalf of afflicted clients and have gone on to study all available literature, cross-reference over thousands of studies of the relationship between prenatal exposure and its effects such as cancer, infertility and premature delivery. We confirmed that any reasonable manufacturer should have known that diethylstilbestrol not only failed to promote healthy full-term pregnancies, but was also a teratogen and a carcinogen.
The expert diethylstilbestrol effects attorney for mothers and daughters
As the leading diethylstilbestrol effects attorney group, Aaron Levine & Associates have won both jury and appellate cases. We have gained precedent-setting rulings in DES daughter cases when the drug was prescribed to pregnant women during the 1950s and 1960s. The bottom line is that the diethylstilbestrol should never have been placed on the market. In addition, we have successfully prosecuted diethylstilbestrol effects and infertility claims against DES manufacturers throughout America, Belgium, Holland, France, Germany and Italy.
Aaron M. Levine is an internationally recognized expert on the effects of DES on daughters such as infertility, DES, and third-generation birth defects.
On the forefront of Diethylstilbestrol
Aaron M. Levine & Associates provides clients with all the support they need. Our attorneys and medical staff are experts in drug injuries. We have built a strong network of physicians, surgeons and scientific specialists. They have the resources needed to legally prove that a client suffers from DES effects as well as the legal staff needed to help them gain restitution.
Aaron Levine & Associates have completed the video deposition of the Chief of Toxicology, Baylor Medical School, one of the world's experts on DES and former consultant to one of the manufacturers of DES. His deposition is available to all our clients and lays out in a manner understandable to a jury, how drug companies failed to test for efficacy (it never worked) and failed to warn of risks and harm which were known before the drug was placed on the market.
Aaron M. Levine is President and principal trial lawyer of the firm Aaron M. Levine & Associates. In his 50 years of practice, Mr. Levine has been devoted to consumer rights in the fields of dangerous drugs, defective devices, and medical malpractice. He has been a force in expanding the legal rights of consumers, successfully represented thousands of victims injured because of the negligence of doctors and the exaggerated claims of drug and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
DES Psychological Injuries
We have counseling and psychological experts available to review and assess the emotional impact of reproductive injuries. The women suffering from infertility, poor pregnancy outcomes and failed IVF, experience unique stress, dashed hopes, cyclical fears, frustration and feelings of inadequacy, which in many cases develop into marital strife and emotional turmoil. We place special emphasis on and explore all aspects of the situational anxiety, depression, family dynamics, self-image and the other psychological phenomena associated with impaired reproductive function. We pride ourselves on our ability to elucidate psychological injury and present the financial and emotional costs involved.
Contact Us for Immediate, Complete Support
You can immediately review your case with Aaron Levine & Associates free of charge. We invite you to contact our firm at 202-559-0393 or 888-564-9305. Our team will provide the individualized attention that your case deserves at all times. You can rely on our extensive experience in DES infertility, in-depth knowledge of the law and wealth of resources we can call upon to help you get the compensation you deserve.
