Zoloft, Paxil Birth Defect Lawsuit Filed Over Infant’s Death

The birth defect lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania on behalf of the baby girl’s parents. The SSRI antidepressant lawsuit has named the defendants as Pfizer, Inc. and GlaxoSmithKline LLC and is referred to as Case No. 2:12-cv-05962-CMR.

The SSRI antidepressant birth defect lawsuit claims that on February 6, 2005, the plaintiffs’ daughter was born in Des Moines, Iowa. It goes on to state that the mother of the child started taking both Zoloft and Paxil in 2004 in order to treat her depression. The mother claims that she took the antidepressants according to the packaging insert. After the mother began taking these medications she then discovered that she was pregnant. As a result, the baby girl was born with multiple cardiac birth defects, which include both atrial and ventricular septal defects. Sadly, at just 13 days old the baby passed away on February 19, 2005. Her death was contributed to a congestive heart failure as well as atrial and ventricular septal defects.

According to the Zoloft and Paxil SSRI antidepressant lawsuit, both of these selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants are marketed to treat depression. They both work by causing an increased amount of serotonin in the medication user. This is a natural substance that the brain uses to achieve mental balance. The SSRI antidepressant lawsuit goes on to claim that both Zoloft and Paxil have been linked to causing severe birth defects when used by pregnant women. The SSRI antidepressant lawsuit states that the drug manufacturers knew of the side effect risk and failed to properly warn the potential users regarding these severe and potentially fatal side effects. The birth defect lawsuit also makes reference to the Paxil warning label update completed in 2005 where doctors were instructed to warn patients of birth defect risks if used during pregnancy. However, the Zoloft warning label has never contained this type of warning.