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In a big relief for parents seeking to file Effexor birth defect lawsuits, the US federal court for Pennsylvania Eastern District, which handles the pretrial consolidation, have allowed direct filing into the MDL pool. Judge Cynthia M. Rufe issued the ruling with certain conditions considering that plaintiffs had almost identical claims and discovery proceedings and such a measure would mitigate time and resources lost in filing at other courts and transferring them later.
In 2013, the panel for federal multidistrict litigation ordered transferring of all Effexor birth defect lawsuits filed against Pfizer and its subsidiary Wyeth to the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania. Judge Rufe was selected to preside over the pretrial consolidation of nine initial litigations, which has been expanded by almost 10 times in the last one year and likely to be increased manifold as Effexor attorneys busy reviewing thousands of potential lawsuits alleging antidepressant side effects on unborn children.
The centralization was aimed at accelerating the litigation process by reducing duplicative discovery and time-consuming processes and ending any chance of conflicting rulings while making expert witness deposition more convenient. November 2, 2015 is tentatively selected as the date for the first bellwether trial of federal Effexor birth defect lawsuits.
New Effexor Birth Defect Lawsuit Order Set Conditions
According to the ruling dated September 2, 2014, the court permitted the entry of Effexor claims for birth defect injuries “to promote judicial efficiency” and subject to the following conditions.
- Every claim filed into MDL directly should be a “single-plaintiff complaint” filed by an individual alone or with his family members for himself or on behalf of a deceased person.
- One claim per child born with birth defects linked to Effexor exposure is allowed.
- No multi-plaintiff complaint is allowed for direct filing without court approval.
- All direct-filed Effexor litigations must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
- The lawsuit is required to give details, including
- Details of specific defendants named in the litigation
- Information on products blamed for birth defect
- Date of birth of the child born with birth defect
- If applicable, date of death of the child born with birth defect
Effexor Birth Defects
- Heart defect: Hypoplastic heart syndrome, septal defects, valve problem, ventricular disorder
- Respiratory defect: PPHN or Persistent Pulmonary hypertension, circulatory distress, acute long failure
- Cranial defect: Skull deformities, Chiari Type 1 malformations, neural tube defects, underdeveloped brain
- Physical defect: Anus deformities, vertebra defect, cleft palate, other bodily deformities
- Neurological defect: Autism, disoriented development, failure to match growth milestones
Effexor Birth Defect Lawsuits
Several research reports and Effexor lawsuit have linked the antidepressant ingestion during pregnancy to birth defects in newborns. Marketed as the safest antidepressant, the drug is now put in the class of SSRI and SNRI drugs that pose serious threat to fetal development when taken by pregnant women. The recurring reports of children born with malformations, heart defects, PPHN and potential developmental delays associated with Effexor therapy, pregnant mothers are in quandary over balancing their mental health and preventing any impact on their unborn child.
Effexor attorneys representing plaintiffs filed in the recent years share allegations that Pfizer and Wyeth were aware of pregnancy side effects the drug, but did not release the data to ensure commercial gains. This led pregnant women to consider the drug safe and ingest it to treat their depression, which could have impacted the child in the womb. However, the antidepressant had its own side effects in the form of birth defects in children born to such mothers.
If your child is a victim of Effexor birth defect and you are willing pursue defective medical device product liability lawsuit seeking financial damages, please contact our experienced Effexor attorneys or call on 1-800-632-1404 for a free consultation.
Contact an Effexor Birth Defect Lawyer Today.
If your child was born with a birth defect and you or a loved one took Zoloft during the first trimester or pregnancy, please contact us immediately.
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