New Zoloft Birth Defect Lawsuit Filed in MDL

New Zoloft Birth Defects Lawsuit Filed

An Oklahoma woman has filed a new lawsuit against the maker of Zoloft, alleging that her use of the antidepressant while she was pregnant has caused her child to suffer severe birth defects. She is seeking at least $75,000 to help her pay for her daughter’s medical expenses.

Torrie Johnson alleges that she took Zoloft while pregnant, as directed by her doctor. She claims she reviewed the drug information that accompanied her prescription, but did not see any warnings about the risk of congenital birth defects or other pregnancy complications associated with the use of the product. Because warnings about Zoloft birth defects were not emphasized in the materials, she believed that using Zoloft during her pregnancy would be safe.

Johnson alleges that Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, failed to adequately warn pregnant women that using the drug while pregnant can cause congenital defects to the fetus. She says she used Zoloft while she was pregnant with her son, who was born with birth defects including a heart murmur, congestive heart failure, congenital endocardial cushion defect, failure to thrive and developmental delays.

California Woman Claims Zoloft Is No More Effective than Placebo

Earlier this year, plaintiff Laura Plumlee filed a potential class action lawsuit claiming that Zoloft is no more effective than a placebo. The federal lawsuit was filed in California.

Plumlee claims she took Zoloft for three years without positive results. Her attorney argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should not have approved Zoloft because Pfizer withheld information about clinical studies that suggested Zoloft’s effectiveness was similar to a placebo.

Plumlee claims in the class action lawsuit that she took Zoloft from 2005 through 2009. Her doctor increased her dose regularly during this time. Although her doctor felt that the drug was working, Plumlee disagreed. Plumlee appeared on the 60 Minutes news program to talk about her concerns. During one segment, Irving Kirsch, the expert witness hired to support Plumlee’s case, stated that his research showed that much of the benefit of antidepressants is due to the placebo effect. The placebo effect is a known phenomenon that patients sometimes experience health benefits from taking a sugar pill if they believe that the pill is actually medicinal.

Pfizer disputes the claim over Zoloft’s effectiveness, claiming that it has been proven to be effective in several clinical studies. Further, millions of patients who have used the drug over the last 20 years have found it to be effective. Pfizer representatives denounced the lawsuit as frivolous.

Although this lawsuit is unusual, the ramifications of a successful outcome could be extreme. Zoloft has already been tied to a heightened risk of birth defects when women take the drug during pregnancy. Pfizer has already been under fire for downplaying these risks. If it is found that the drug was no more effective than a placebo, yet caused women and their children severe side effects, there will undoubtedly be thousands of lawsuits to follow.

If Your Child Was Born with Zoloft Birth Defects

If you took Zoloft while pregnant and your child was born with birth defects, contact an attorney to discuss your legal options. You may be able to join a class action lawsuit or file a Zoloft lawsuit of your own. Visit the Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro & Prozac SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation page for more information.