CHEYENNE, WY (AttorneyNewswire.com) — August 23, 2010 — Eleven percent of American women are on antidepressants, such as Paxil. Use by pregnant women has risen a lot, even though Paxil has been linked to birth defects. The unborn babies of women who take it may be at risk of heart malformations, and other birth defects.
The Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine reported that 30 percent of babies with prenatal antidepressant exposure showed symptoms of withdrawal such as tremors, breathing problems, stomach problems, sleep issues, rapid heartbeat, irritability and profuse sweating. But even more worrisome are birth defects.
GlaxoSmithKline makes Paxil. With more than a gesture toward taking responsibility for causing birth defects, Glaxo recently set aside $2.4 billion for legal matters, including money for product liability lawsuits over Paxil, mothers and babies.
Glaxo is going to spend the money “to resolve certain longstanding legal cases,” according to its main corporate lawyer in a statement quoted in the New York Times.
Our office has a number of Paxil baby clients with cases pending against GSK. The lawsuits allege GSK deliberately chose against adequately warning physicians and expectant mothers about the risk of birth defects when those pregnant mothers took Paxil. The problems include persistent pulmonary hypertension in newborn babies (PPHN) and heart defects, holes the heart and malformed hearts.
Many law firms claim to have success in Paxil cases but only two lawsuits have ever resulted in a verdict against GSK for a birth injury, or death from suicide. One of those two successful trials against GSK over Paxil resulted in a verdict in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in which Jim Fitzgerald was privileged to serve as trial co-counsel for a family.
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