Mother Sues Pfizer for Son’s Heart Birth Defects

Plaintiff Heather Chapman is suing Pfizer over her child’s birth defects, alleging his heart defects were caused by Pfizer’s antidepressant Zoloft. Her lawsuit joined existing multi-district litigation against Pfizer over Zoloft birth defects. 

In 2009, Chapman’s physicians prescribed her antidepressants. This was during the first trimester of her pregnancy with her child, identified in court documents as “T.C.” She continued to take them under her physician’s advice and prescription throughout the pregnancy. Neither Chapman nor her physicians were aware of the potential risks of birth defects associated with Zoloft, according to the lawsuit. 

When T.C. was born, the child suffered from a number of serious birth defects, including several major heart defects. This included ventricular septal defects and L-transposition. 

Overview of Zoloft Heart Defects

In septal defects, the walls between the various chambers of the heart do not full form, allowing oxygenated and non-oxygenated blood to mix in the heart. This prevents the heart from providing well-oxygenated blood to the body. This can lead to tissue damage and sluggishness, depending on how much oxygen gets to the tissues. 

In L-transposition, defects to the heart cause blood to flow through it in unusual patterns. Untreated, the heart muscles can struggle to adapt, growing to unusual size and straining to pump harder than they were meant to. For T.C., these problems were a medical crisis, requiring surgical intervention. 

Lawsuit Says Pfizer Hid Zoloft Side Effects

According to the Zoloft lawsuit, Pfizer was aware of the risks of birth defects associated with Zoloft and other SSRI antidepressants, based on clinical trials, postmarket surveillance, and published, peer-reviewed studies. The Zoloft lawsuit further alleges that despite this, Pfizer not only failed to act on this information, but actively concealed the risks associated with their products. In the complaint’s own words: 

“Pfizer aggressively promoted Zoloft as an improvement over other antidepressant medications on the basis that Zoloft was less likely to cause side effects when taken during a pregnancy, including congenital heart defects.”

The Zoloft lawsuit states that Chapman would have never used Zoloft during her pregnancy had she been aware of the potential risk of serious birth defects associated with the drug. 

The case is formally titled Heather Chapman, individually and as parent and legal guardian of T.C., a minor, v. Pfizer Inc., Case No. 2:13-cv-04807-CMR, MDL 2342, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 

Obtain a Free Zoloft Lawsuit Review

If you, or someone you care about took an SSRI like Zoloft and went on to have a child with serious birth defects, feeling overwhelmed is normal. Coping with a child’s birth defects can entail late nights at the hospital, mounting medical expenses, and lost wages. But you need to remember that no mater else is going on, you still have rights, and there are steps that you can take to regain 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 free review by a birth defect lawyer. If you have a case, you will be contacted to discuss the next steps of your potential Zoloft lawsuit, free of charge.