Effexor birth defects lawsuits are expected to start moving forward in September 2016, igniting the preparation for the bellwether trials. A small group of these Effexor lawsuits will be prepared to go to trial, where they will be representing the other birth defect lawsuits before the presiding federal judge.

The case management order was officially issued on Nov. 18 by U.S. District Judge Cynthia Rufe, who outlined how the legal process would begin. A total of 14 Effexor birth defect lawsuits will be selected to go through a case-specific discovery process in the bellwether program, which is designed to help determine the strengths and weaknesses of the Effexor birth defect lawsuits.

These Effexor lawsuits were given multidistrict litigation, or MDL, status in August 2013, in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The purpose of the MDL is to reduce the chance of duplicative discovery, conserve legal resources, avoid conflicting rulings from different judges, and to further serve the convenience of the parties.

Both the plaintiff and defense sides must each select seven cases each to be submitted into the “Initial Discovery Group.” The plaintiffs’ deadline is Dec. 22, 2014, with Pfizer’s deadline being Jan. 26, 2015.

After these birth defect bellwether lawsuits are chosen they will go through the “threshold discovery,” where the parties exchange certain fact sheets and documents, as well as limited depositions of parents or legal guardians of minor plaintiffs, healthcare providers, and other viable witnesses.

Plaintiffs will also be allowed to take depositions of no more than two Pfizer sales representatives who called on the mothers’ physicians. By Nov. 30, 2015, Judge Rufe states that the parties may nix one chosen case from each other, and by Dec. 2, 2015, the parties will choose two Effexor lawsuits for the “Trial Pool” phase.

These birth defect lawsuits will then go through additional discovery processes to prepare for trial.

Judge Rufe scheduled the first Effexor bellwether trial to begin on Sept. 6, 2016. The parties will be given 25 hours to present their case, including opening statements, closing arguments and testimony.

While the outcome of these Effexor bellwether trials will not affect other claims, the process may predict how the other Effexor birth defect lawsuits may turn out. If an Effexor settlement is not reached after these Effexor bellwether trials end, Judge Rufe may send these lawsuits back to their original filing districts.

Overview of Effexor Birth Defects Litigation

As of now, there are at least 68 Effexor lawsuits that have been filed throughout the country, alleging similar claims against the drug’s manufacturer, Pfizer. Each of these birth defect lawsuits describes mild to severe birth defects, which were allegedly caused by Effexor.

According to the mothers involved in these birth defect lawsuits, each of them had been pregnant when they were prescribed Effexor, or became pregnant shortly after they were prescribed the drug. It was after the birth of their children when they discovered the damage the antidepressant had allegedly inflicted to them.

The birth defects reported include mild to severe malformations, development disabilities, heart complications, and other injuries.

Effexor is a popular serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) antidepressant, with these medications being well-known for their fast-acting treatment mechanism. This drug was first approved in 1993 and is typically prescribed to treat major depression, anxiety disorder, social phobia, and panic disorders in adult patients.

SNRI medications work by blocking the reabsorption of both serotonin and norepinephrine, which prevents anxiety and depression. While popular among patients, it has recently been discovered that SNRI and their cousins SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) may cause birth defects in unborn children.

Effexor eventually received a black box warning for this potential event, but it was far too late for many mothers across America. A number of these affected families have filed birth defect lawsuits against Pfizer for allegedly failing to protect their children against Effexor birth defects.