A mother who filed a birth defect lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories alleging that her use of anti-epileptic drug Depakote during pregnancy caused her daughter to suffer physical and cognitive impairments presented sufficient evidence to allow some of her claims to survive summary judgment, a federal court ruled.

According to the Depakote birth defects lawsuit, Plaintiff Pamela R. suffers from epileptic seizures stemming from childhood and began taking Depakote at age 14. She took two medications throughout the pregnancies of her five children. Her youngest child, born in 2004, suffers from birth defects such as cognitive impairment, abnormal facial features, and developmental delays.

Pamela R., filed the lawsuit against Depakote’s manufacturers, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie Inc. alleging defective design, negligent misrepresentation, failure to warn, fraud, breach of warranty, and unjust enrichment.

Pamela’s failure to warn claim rests on the appropriateness of comparing Depakote to other drugs on its labels, evidence that Abbott failed to warn about the severe risks of birth defects, and whether these risks were common knowledge.

The federal judge assigned to her case, U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott, preserved only her warranty and failure to warn claims.  While Pamela’s claim that Abbott failed to provide warnings as to risks for developmental delays associated with the use of Depakote was preempted by federal law, sufficient questions of fact remained as to many of her other claims to preclude summary judgment.

She is also allowed to pursue punitive damages under common law negligence claims.

Depakote Birth Defects Risks

In 2009, the FDA warned that Depakote could cause neural tube defects, heart defects and malformations of the skull. The primary ingredient in Depakote has been found to cause severe defects if taken during the first trimester of pregnancy, including heart conditions, spina bifida, deformities of the limbs and fingers, and cleft lip and palate.

Depakote use during pregnancy has also been linked to fetal valproate syndrome, a condition that can cause children to develop facial deformities.

In addition to these dangers, the FDA released a safety alert on May 6, 2013 stating that Depakote and other drugs like it (valproate sodium and related products, valproic acid and divalproex sodium) should not be given to pregnant women to prevent migraine headaches, as a new study has revealed that it can result in lower IQ scores in children born to women who took the drug while pregnant.

In addition to issuing this alert, the FDA announced it would be changing the warning on these drugs from “D” to “X,” indicating that the risks associated with this medication outweigh the potential benefits it could have for pregnant women looking to prevent migraines.

Depakote Lawsuits

Parents and families filing birth defect lawsuits against Abbott seek compensation for physical pain, permanent injury, mental suffering, loss of income, medical expenses, and future economic damages.  These Depakote lawsuits seek to hold the pharmaceutical companies accountable for the children’s birth defects and subsequent medical treatment and interventions.

The Depakote Birth Defects Lawsuit is Case No. 1:13-cv-144, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio,Western Division.

In general, Depakote lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.