Pfizer Hit with Anther Zoloft Birth Defect Lawsuit

The woman’s Zoloft lawsuit joins the multidistrict litigation (MDL) that is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Washington woman claims she took Zoloft during her pregnancy, as it was prescribed by her doctor and that the literature that accompanied the medication did not list congenital birth defects or other pregnancy risks as any of the side effects of taking Zoloft. Due to this, she felt confident that it was safe to take the SSRI antidepressant while she was pregnant.

On March 16, 1995, the woman’s daughter was born with life-threatening birth defects.  The most serious was a hypoplastic left heart, which means that the left side of her heart was underdeveloped, which prevented the left side of the heart from sending an adequate amount of blood to the body. This puts pressure on the right side of the heart to carry enough blood to the body by itself. This condition required multiple surgeries and ongoing medical treatments since the child’s birth.

The mother believes that these birth defects were a due to her taking Zoloft during her pregnancy. She argues that had she known the potential danger to her daughter, she would not have taken the antidepressant.

Zoloft, made by Pfizer Inc., and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants have been linked to serious heart defects in several scientific studies.  The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in 2006 showing that the risk for heart defects doubled in babies born to women who took Zoloft during pregnancy.

Another study in the same journal showed that women who took the SSRI antidepressant Paxil during pregnancy had three times the risk of having a child born with heart defects over women who didn’t take the antidepressant.

The woman in this case is asking for $75,000 in damages to cover the medical costs she incurred as a result of her daughter’s heart condition. She claims Zoloft was inadequately tested and clearly not safe for use during pregnancy. Included in her charges against Pfizer are failure to warn, design defect, negligence, negligent design, fraud, and loss of consortium.

If you or anyone you know has had a similar experience while taking Zoloft, Paxil or another SSRI during pregnancy, legal options are available to you. Learn more and get free legal consultation regarding a claim’s eligibility at the Zoloft & SSRI Antidepressant Birth Defect Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Experienced legal professionals have access to medical experts to assess whether or not this antidepressant played a role in the development of a serious heart defect in your child, so act now.