Sources: J&J Settles with 35 Ortho Evra Plaintiffs

AUSTIN, Texas - Johnson & Johnson has settled lawsuits with 35 women who claim its Ortho Evra birth control patch caused their blood clots, sources told HarrisMartin Publishing.

Ray Chester, an Austin, Texas-based attorney with McGinnis Lockridge & Kilgore, said the confidential settlements began in January and are continuing to this day. Chester - who declined to reveal his clients' names and the courts in which their cases were filed - said the eight settled cases were filed in state courts in Texas, New Jersey and California, and federal courts in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

J&J spokesmen would not comment …