Lawsuit Alleges Effexor Caused Serious Heart and Lung Birth Defects

During her pregnancy with her child – identified in court documents only as K.K. – Block took Effexor, believing that it was safe to use the drug during pregnancy. When K.K. was born in November 2009, the child suffered from heart defects, including a ventricular septal defect (VSD), omphalocele and hypoplastic lungs, among other serious birth defects. 

In ventricular septal defects, the division between the chambers of the heart does not fully form, allowing unoxygenated blood and oxygenated blood to mix together within the heart. While this condition may involve no symptoms, it can also lead to life-threatening complications depending on how severely damaged the division between the chambers is. In some cases, this condition can cause high blood pressure in the blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs as the heart’s muscles struggle to compensate. 

Omphalocele, another of K.K.’s birth defects, is a situation when some of the abdominal organs are outside of the abdomen during birth. These organs can include the intestines or liver, and can vary wildly in severity. In some cases, surgeons can quickly and easily repair the damage, but in some cases, surgeons have to actually increase the size of the abdomen to accommodate the displaced organs. 

Hypolasia is a situation wherein an organ or structure does not fully develop. In the case of K.K., this condition went hand in hand with several other birth defects involving the lungs, including central diaphragmatic hernia, a condition where the diaphragm (the muscular structure that controls the lungs) is malformed. 

K.K. required surgical intervention to correct these serious birth defects. The Effexor birth defects lawsuit alleges that the manufacturers of Effexor were aware – or reasonably should have been aware, based on legally-required postmarket surveillance, peer-reviewed studies, and their own clinical testing – that Effexor and related drugs could cause serious birth defects. The Effexor lawsuit further alleges that the manufactures actively concealed these risks, preventing patients and their prescribing physicians from having all of the information they needed to make informed medical decisions. Block says she would have never used Effexor during pregnancy had she been aware of the risks to K.K. 

The case is formally titled Charity Block, Individually and as Parent and Legal Guardian of K.K., a Minor v. Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pfizer Inc., Case No. 2:13-cv-00615-BCW, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. 

If you or someone you care about had a child with birth defects after taking antidepressants during pregnancy, you have almost certainly found yourself in a challenging situation. It takes enormous emotional strength to shift gears to adapt to coping with birth defects. Having a child with serious birth defect can cause tremendous strain, and not just emotionally. In this situation, you may find yourself faced with mounting medical costs in addition to lost wages as you build you schedule around your child’s medical care. But you need to remember that regardless of the challenges you’ve found yourself facing, you still have rights, and there are steps that you can take to regain a measure of control over your situation. You can start by visiting the Zoloft, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, Depakote & Prozac SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Here, you can enter information about your situation for a legal review by a trained expert with a background in this type of litigation. The initial consultation is completely free of charge, and from here, you can receive additional guidance on the best steps to take in your exact situation.