Ind. Parents File Zoloft Lawsuit Over Daughter’s Birth Defects

Indiana plaintiff couple Lorenda and Antonio Barata are suing Pfizer Inc. for the injuries their minor daughter sustained, allegedly as a result of the mother ingesting Zoloft during the pregnancy.  The minor plaintiff was born on May 29, 2002 with multiple congenital defects. Their case joins hundreds of similar Zoloft lawsuits alleging that the SSRI antidepressant caused birth defects.

The Zoloft lawsuit states that Barata was prescribed Zoloft to treat her depression and anxiety before her pregnancy.  The medication was taken throughout the entire gestation process, fully exposing the minor plaintiff allegedly to the possibility of birth defects.  Barata and her husband allege they had no prior knowledge of this possibility, and would not have taken the medication if they had known.

The minor plaintiff was born with left foot polydactyl, short left index finger, delicate cartilage to one of her big toes, and other physical deformities, according to the Zoloft lawsuit. The minor plaintiff required immediate medical assistance after her birth, and will continue to contend with her conditions for the rest of her life.  The parents contend that Pfizer had the responsibility to warn them and their physicians of these possibilities, because they were relying on the given information at the time.

Instead, there were no warnings or indications on the drug’s labels, nor were there any special warnings for obstetricians in the case of a complication.  The defendant company made no effort to notify the plaintiffs of these complications, or refer them to any relevant US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerts or studies.

The Baratas are suing Pfizer Inc for being directly responsible for manufacturing, selling, distributing, and marketing a dangerous product.  The charges include: negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product.

 Overview of Zoloft Complications

Zoloft (Sertraline) was first approved by the FDA in 1991, and was later released to the market in 1992.  It was approved to be used as antidepressant for a variety of mood disorders. It is a popular choice among adult and pediatric patients alike.

Zoloft is a part of the recently-developed drug family called SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors), which are thought to be one of the most innovative psychological treatment drugs of the 21^st century.  Recently, Zoloft and other SSRI medications have been discovered to allegedly increase the risk of birth defects to unborn fetuses. Despite this recent association, Zoloft remains one of Pfizer’s most popular products, with 37,208,000 Zoloft prescriptions written up in 2011.

SSRI antidepressants differ in mechanism when compared to traditional emotional stabilization medications. Instead of trying to mediate electrical signals for the entire brain, SSRIs targets the specific mental malfunction, and work to directly counteract it.  The SSRI mechanism allows for less severe emotional and physical side effects from the medication, making it vastly popular compared to traditionally-engineered psychological medications.  Unfortunately, certain side effects have recently been discovered in association with this medication, particularly in the form of birth defects occurring in children.  Experts are now asserting that mothers who ingest Zoloft and other SSRI medications during pregnancy, they are much more likely to have their baby born with birth defects.

According to facts which came out during the litigation process, Pfizer had conducted medical testing on pregnant mice using Zoloft, to test whether or not the drug would have a negative impact on the fetuses.  The test revealed that the drug presented significant risk the fetuses, harming over half the test subjects.  Despite this, Pfizer did not discourage pregnant women from using Zoloft, nor did they include any warning indications on the drug’s label.  Hundreds of Zoloft lawsuits allege that evidence shows that Pfizer made pregnant women their target audience, in some advertisements.

These Zoloft lawsuits have been consolidated into the Zoloft MDL called In Re: Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2342, in the United states District Court of Eastern Pennsylvania.

File a Zoloft Lawsuit Today

If you took an antidepressant such as Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft or Effexor and your child was born with one or more of the birth defects listed above, you may qualify to pursue compensation from the drug manufacturer. Your child must be under the age of 18 and had surgery to correct his or congenital defects. Learn more and obtain a free case review at the Zoloft Lawsuit & SSRI Lawsuit Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.