In a recent development in the Zofran birth defect litigation movement, a family from Montana is taking legal action against GlaxoSmithKline for a young child’s birth defects.

The plaintiff claims that she was prescribed Zofran to treat morning sickness at an early stage in her pregnancy and followed prescription instructions at all times relevant. According to the Zofran lawsuit, the plaintiff’s daughter was born with severe birth defects, which later required surgery to correct.

The plaintiff gave birth to her daughter in 1998 and claims she was born with cleft palate and cleft lip. While not life-threatening, children with these facial birth defects often suffer from speech development, feeding problems, and commonly suffer from ear infections.

Since her birth, the plaintiff’s child has had to undergo ten surgeries to fix these birth defects, and reportedly cannot enjoy a normal life due to these deformities. The plaintiff is suing GlaxoSmithKline for failing to protect her daughter against the dangers of their product.

Zofran Birth Defects Overview

When Zofran was released in the early 1990s, it was FDA approved to be a anti-nausea and vomiting treatment for chemotherapy patients. While it was commonly prescribed off-label to treat morning sickness, it was never officially approved to treat pregnant women.

While it is not illegal for doctors to prescribe medications for off-label purposes, it is illegal for pharmaceutical companies to advertise them for such reasons.

After seeing the popularity of Zofran amongst newly-pregnant women, GlaxoSmithKline allegedly advertised the drug as a safe and effective treatment against morning sickness despite not knowing if it was dangerous to fetuses.

The results have been devastating, as millions of mothers across America discovered their babies were born with birth defects. Some of these defects have been as severe as cardiac complications, with most infants placed under immediate medical care upon delivery.

Zofran Lawsuits

In 2012, GSK settled a federal, civil false claim lawsuit alleging GSK had promoted Zofran for the treatment of morning sickness in pregnant women despite being approved only for post-operative nausea, and that GSK had paid doctors kickbacks for prescribing Zofran. In 2012, GSK settled that lawsuit along with three similar lawsuits regarding other GSK products for $1.043 billion.

There are currently 34 Zofran birth defects lawsuits filed throughout the country, with each alleging similar claims that the nausea drug caused children to be born with unexpected birth defects.

The Zofran Birth Defects Lawsuit is filed as Case No. 1:15-cv-00026-SPW-CSO, filed in the U. S. District Court of Montana, Billings Division.