In March, neurosurgeons and researchers in France published a large case control study in the British Medical Journal that found women who continually took the contraceptive Depo-Provera had a 550% higher chance of developing brain tumors.

Since the study came out, plaintiffs firms have been taking calls from women who took Depo-Provera and were diagnosed with a form of brain tumor called intracranial meningioma. On Tuesday, Weitz & Luxenberg filed the first lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. and several affiliated companies that sell the authorized generic form of Depo-Provera. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.