An Indiana mother has filed a personal injury lawsuit against Pfizer alleging that ingesting its popular antidepressant drug Zoloft during her pregnancy caused her child to be born with life-threatening congenital heart defects, including a “patent ductus arteriosus, a patent foramen ovale and mitral valve sufficiency.”

Plaintiff Elizabeth C. was prescribed Zoloft prior to her pregnancy and continued under her physician’s care to take Zoloft during her pregnancy. Elizabeth alleges in the Zoloft lawsuit that had her or her physician been adequately warned that Zoloft could cause congenital heart defects if ingested during pregnancy, she would have ceased taking the drug for the duration of her pregnancy.

The Zoloft lawsuit accuses Pfizer of negligence, false advertising, concealing information, and misrepresenting a product. Elizabeth claims that she was not aware that this drug could cause such complications until recently, and had not been given proper disclosure at the time she was prescribed the medication. The Zoloft lawsuit is holding Pfizer accountable for deliberately concealing that Zoloft can cause serious congenital defects.

The Zoloft birth defect lawsuit further alleges that Pfizer knew Zoloft posed a severe risk of congenital heart defects and other birth defects since it crosses the placenta and intentionally withheld this information from patients and doctors.

Zoloft and Birth Defect Risks

Zoloft is used by millions of Americans to treat depression. More specifically, pregnant women have been prescribed Zoloft to help with anxiety involved with their pregnancy.

Studies have documented a connection between Zoloft and other anti-depressants of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class and life-threatening congenital defects.

The New England Journal of Medicine found that children born to women who took Zoloft specifically during pregnancy faced the following increased risks when compared to those who did not take SSRI antidepressants. Also, according to the British Medical Journal, SSRIs carry twice the risk of other congenital birth defects overall when taken during pregnancy.

Common congenital heart defects include:

• Tetralogy of fallot (TOF): A heart defect which causes low oxygen levels in the blood.
• Coarctation of the aorta: The aorta is narrowed, making it harder for blood to pass through the artery with symptoms such as dizziness, chest pain, nosebleed and poor growth.
• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome: A rare congenital birth defect that occurs when parts of the left side of the heart do not form completely.
• Holes in the heart: A cardiac – either ventricular septal (VSD) or atrial septal (ASD).

Elizabeth C. is seeking all general, special, and punitive damages in excess of $75,000 for Pfizer’s alleged failure to warn and negligence in promoting Zoloft. She has demanded a jury trial for this case.

The Zoloft lawsuit, filed Nov. 14, 2014, is part of the Zoloft birth defect MDL known as In Re: Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride) Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 2:14-cv-06552-CMR, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Zoloft Lawsuits

Over 600 Zoloft birth defect lawsuits have been filed against Pfizer. However, these are not consolidated into a Zoloft class action lawsuit. Instead, most cases are centralized in a federal Multi-District Litigation (MDL No. 2342) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Additional Zoloft lawsuits are pending in Alabama, California, Illinois, Missouri, and New York.