S.C. Parents Sue Pfizer for Son’s Alleged Zoloft Birth Defects

From the moment a woman becomes pregnant, she does everything in her power to protect her baby. However, when it comes to Zoloft, some parents allege they weren’t given a choice and were tricked into harming their child for life. Zoloft allegedly causes birth defects, but Pfizer did not put adequate warning labels on the packaging or on the inserts, according to hundreds of Zoloft lawsuits consolidated in Pennsylvania federal court.

Cirae and Marquis Page, parents of Justin Devol Page, say that their son never stood a chance. “Zoloft is defective, dangerous to human health, unfit and unsuitable to be marketed and sold in commerce and lacked proper warnings as to the dangers associated to its use,” their Zoloft lawsuit, filed Nov. 27, 2013, states.

Born on Dec. 27, 2009, the Pages welcomed a baby to their family, but never knew that during Cirae’s pregnancy she was actually causing permanent congenital birth defects by taking the drug. They were never told about the risks of Zoloft birth defects, they say.

Early Trials Link Zoloft to Birth Defects

Justin “was born with congenital birth defects known as Goldenhar Syndrome, Vater Syndrome, esophageal atresia, scoliosis, tracheosophagael fistula, right ear deformity, cleft lip, and other related conditions,” the Zoloft lawsuit says. These birth defects were caused, the lawsuit continues, because Cirae was prescribed Zoloft while pregnant and told it was safe.

Zoloft is one of Pfizer’s top-selling drugs and is prescribed for major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, acute post traumatic stress disorder, and chronic PTSD. Early clinical trials of Zoloft side effects indicated the drug caused birth defects but this information was not shared with the public.

“Had (Cirae) been adequately warned that Zoloft could cause congenital birth defects if ingested during pregnancy, she would not have taken the drug,” states the Page’s Zoloft lawsuit.

“The defects suffered by (Justin) were a direct result of (Cirae) ingesting Zoloft during her pregnancy in a manner and dosage recommended and prescribed” by her doctor, the lawsuit continues. She says she did everything as instructed, confident that she was protecting herself and her baby. According to the Pages, Pfizer purposefully sidestepped the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations.

“Under the FDA scheme, (Pfizer) had a duty to ensure their warnings to the medical community are and remain accurate and adequate, to conduct safety surveillance of adverse events for the drug, to report any data related to safety and/or accuracy of the warnings and information disseminated regarding the drug, and to update the label when new safety information was obtained,” the Zoloft lawsuit says. The Pages claim Pfizer did none of this.

Justin’s birth defects were 100-percent preventable, his parents say. His “injuries were foreseeable and proximate result of (Pfizer’s) acts and/or omissions including, but not limited to, dissemination of inaccurate, misleading, materially incomplete, false, and otherwise inadequate information to the medical community.”

In turn, the Pages “have suffered medical, nursing, hospital, pharmacy, rehabilitative and related costs and expenses for (Justin’s) injuries, care and lost wages, lost earning capacity, economic losses, and damages for which they are entitled compensation.”

They say that Pfizer knew for years about the Zoloft complications, from outside studies as well as their own studies, and the company had plenty of information and time to protect their consumers—they chose not to. They chose to inflict lifelong pain and suffering on children say the Zoloft victims.

A Shocking Decision

According to their Zoloft lawsuit, Pfizer was “aware that their failure to disclose this information to the medical community and the Plaintiffs would result in serious injury and/or death to the children or unborn fetus of women who were prescribed Zoloft by a physician who was not aware of this information. By failing to disclose this information, Pfizer… acted in willful, wanton and outrageous manner and with evil disregard of the rights” of the Pages.

“Despite having extensive knowledge of the extreme risks associated with the Zoloft, as well as the absolute duty to properly and adequately warn foreseeable users, (Pfizer) never approached the FDA to alter the label for Zoloft so that they had properly and adequately warned of the risks of birth defects associated with the drug.”

The parents are suing Pfizer for design defect, negligence, negligent design, fraud/misrepresentation and suppression, constructive fraud, breach of warranties, gross negligence/malice, loss of consortium and pecuniary loss, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and punitive damages.

The case is Cirae Adams, et al v. Pfizer Inc., et al, MDL No.: 2342, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Help for Victims of SSRI Birth Defects

Studies have shown that women who take SSRI antidepressants during the first trimester of pregnancy are more likely to give birth to a child with congenital defects. These congenital defects include:

ASD/VSD (hole in heart)
Hypoplastic Left Heart or Right Heart Syndrome
Tetralogy of Fallot
Pulmonary Valve Stenosis
Other heart malformation or heart defect
Cleft Palate or Cleft Lip
Spina Bifida
Omphalocele
Club foot

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 SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.