Ill. Federal Judge Excludes Testimony of Plaintiff’s Retained Expert in Mirena Action

CHICAGO — An Illinois federal judge has excluded a plaintiff’s retained expert in a Mirena toxic shock syndrome case, finding the expert failed to back his opinion with scientific evidence that the device caused an infection while inserted in the uterus.

On April 25, Judge Jorge Alonso of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois deemed unreliable the expert’s conclusion that a Mirena device may cause an infection merely by existing in the uterine cavity a few weeks after its insertion, rather than by becoming contaminated during insertion.

In 2013, Ivette Mercado was prescribed a Mirena intrauterine …