Mother Sues Pfizer for Alleged Zoloft Birth Defects

Kisha Liedke-Hoar has sued Pfizer Inc. on behalf of herself and her minor child, who was born with a number of birth defects. The lawsuit alleges that Pfizer’s antidepressants were the cause of the child’s birth defects. She also claimed that  Pfizer did not do enough to protect the public from this risk.

According to court documents, Kisha took Zoloft during her pregnancy with her daughter, identified only as “CMH.” When Liedke-Hoar gave birth to CMS in August of 2009, the baby suffered  from serious heart defects, including atrial septal defects, a malformation of the walls separating the various chambers of the heart, impairing function. CMH also suffered from deformities of the head, face and eyes that required surgical intervention to correct. CMH survived five surgeries, including heart and eye surgeries, and hospitalizations despite being a little over four years old. The lawsuit asserts that this situation has caused Hoar substantial emotional and financial strain.

The Zoloft lawsuit contends that not only did Zoloft cause these birth defects, but that the manufacturers were aware – or reasonably should have been aware – of the serious risks associated with their products. The lawsuit indicates that evidence of birth defects could be found in the earliest preclinical animal trials of the drug.