New Zoloft Birth Defect Lawsuit Filed Against Pfizer

A Tennessee family has filed a Zoloft birth defect lawsuit against Pfizer Inc., alleging that the anti-depressant caused their son to be born with serious birth defects as the result of his mother taking the medication when she was pregnant with him.

Renee Ward took Zoloft when she was pregnant with Talon Ward. She gave birth to Talon on Dec. 26, 2005. He was born with several birth defects — a hole in his heart that should have closed before he was born; a spinal deformity called congenital scoliosis; horseshoe kidney, in which the kidneys are fused together; gastroesophageal reflux as well as other related problems due to the fact that Mrs. Ward took the anti-depressant while pregnant.

It is for these reasons that Mrs. Ward and her husband Jason Ward filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. on Nov. 27.

Studies Link Zoloft to Birth Defects

According to a British Medical Journal study released in June 2012, exposure to antidepressants such as Zoloft and Paxil, also known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), can put in utero babies at risk for congenital malformations of the heart.

The risk is the same no matter how long the mother took the anti-depressant, whether she took the medication during the first trimester only or if she waited and started taking the SSRI later during the pregnancy. It also made no difference how much the mother took.

The researchers looked at the offspring of pregnant women in Denmark from 1997 to 2009.

This is not the first study that showed the birth defect risks linked to SSRIs such as Paxil and Zoloft. And the potential birth defects are not limited to the heart.

The Therapeutic Drug Monitoring journal published a study in 2012 that also looked at the birth defects linked to SSRI antidepressants. This particular study focused on Zoloft. Researchers found increased risks of “omphalocele [when major organs grow outside of the body], anal atresia [when the anus is either not present or in the wrong place], limb-reduction defects [in which part or all of a limb fails to completely form], cardiac septal defects [when there is a hole in the septem, allowing blood to flow between the left and right atrium–leading to poorly oxygenated blood] and anencephaly [in which the baby is born with out parts of the brain and skull].”

Mrs. Ward claims that if she had been properly warned about the risks Zoloft posed to her child while pregnant she would not have taken the anti-depressant. She alleges that Pfizer knew or should have known about these risks.

“Prior to the time that [Mrs. Ward] ingested Zoloft during her pregnancy from the preclinical studies and the subsequent published studies confirming these risks,” the Zoloft lawsuit says. “Defendants took no action to adequately warn or remedy the risks, but instead, concealed, suppressed, and failed to disclose the dangers. Even in the face of numerous published studies, Defendants continue to fail to warn of these dangers through revised drug labeling.”

The Zoloft lawsuit claims that Pfizer had data about the birth defects linked to the anti-depressant, but kept that information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The Wards are asking Pfizer to cover all of the medical expenses they have been charged as a result of their son’s birth defects. They are also asking for punitive damages and any other relief the court deems appropriate.

The Zoloft lawsuit is Renee Ward et al. v. Pfizer, Inc., Case No. 2:13-cv-06914-CMR, in the U.S. 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.