San Francisco ? More than 40 women sued the makers of a popular birth-control patch Wednesday, claiming the contraceptive caused serious illnesses and at least one death.

One lawsuit alleges that 43 women suffered from blood clots and other health ailments after taking Ortho Evra, one of the fastest-growing forms of contraception in the U.S.

A second complaint claims that 25-year-old Kelly Bracken, of Elk Ridge, Md., died of severe blood clots in her lungs and legs after she started wearing the skin patch.

The lawsuits, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, name as defendants the drug’s manufacturer, Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical Co., a Titusville, N.J.-based subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson; and San Francisco-based distributor McKesson Corp. The plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary damages.