Zoloft Caused Cleft Palate & Other Birth Defects, Lawsuit Says

Tori was born on March 25, 2002 with several birth defects, including: cleft palate, cranial facial malformation, dislocation of thumbs and elbows, and other skeletal malformations. Allegedly, these birth defects were caused by the mother’s ingestion of Zoloft while she was pregnant with the minor plaintiff.

Zoloft is an SSRI antidepressant (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor), generally prescribed for severe and mild cases of depression. It was approved to treat OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) in 1997 by the FDA, and has continued to receive clearance to treat more and more emotional conditions. The most recent condition Zoloft was approved to treat was on February 7, 2003 for Social Anxiety Disorder.

SSRIs are biologically engineered to target one specific malfunction in the body, and attack the problem directly to correct it. Ideally, the problem would be resolved without affecting any other part of the body, allowing the patient to continue their routine comfortably.

However, in recent studies it has been theorized that Zoloft and other SSRIs cause birth defects in unborn children. These studies state that pregnant women who take SSRIs are more likely to have their infants born with skeletal deformations, facial malformations, and cardiac complications. According to those same studies, infants who are born to mothers who have taken Zoloft and other SSRIs are six times more likely to suffer cardiac birth defects upon birth, and suffer the permanent birth defects their whole lives.

The Russell’s Zoloft lawsuit states that at the time of the mother’s pregnancy that neither she, her husband, nor her prescribing physicians were aware of these possible Zoloft side effects. Therefore, at the time of her prescription, Mrs. Russell had no reason to assume there was any threat to her or her child.

The Zoloft lawsuit further alleges that at no point in time did Pfizer make the plaintiffs or anyone else in their patient population aware through advertising, warning labels, or published studies that Zoloft birth defects may occur. The FDA and other medical agencies have criticized Pfizer for its inadequate labeling on various products that they manufacture, but Zoloft is particularly sensitive because it affects pregnant women and their unborn children.

The Russell family is seeking damages for medical compensation, pain and suffering, emotional damages, and other punitive damages for alleged claims of false advertising, fraud, concealment of vital information, and negligence.

The Zoloft Birth Defects Lawsuit is Russell v. Pfizer Inc., et al., Case No. 13-cv-04102-CMR, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. It is now part of the Zoloft birth defects MDL known as In Re: Zoloft (Sertraline Hydrochloride Products Liability Litigation.