were filed against the A.H. Robins Company – the largest tort liability case since asbestos. The federal judge, Miles W. Lord, attracted public commentary for his judgments, impositions of personal liability, and public rebukes of the company heads. The cost of litigation and settlements (estimated at billions of dollars) led the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1985. As a result, Robins sold the company to American Home Products (now Wyeth). In 1976, the Medical Device Amendments to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act mandated the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for the first time, to require testing and approval of "medical devices", including IUDs. The Dalkon Shield became infamous for its serious design flaw: a porous, multifilament string upon which bacteria could travel into the uterus of users, leading to sepsis, injury, miscarriage, and death. Modern intrauterine devices (IUDs) use monofilament strings, which do not pose this grave risk to users. References Bibliography – Chronicles legal team of Brown & Szaller's involvement in the Dalkon Shield Litigation. – Dissertation Books Abstract: – Includes full text of presiding judge Miles Lord's statement to Clairbone Robins, et al., at bottom. Reviewed and summarised by: Intrauterine contraception Lawsuits Product liability Products introduced in 1971