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A mother has filed a Zoloft birth injury lawsuit holding two Illinois-based hospitals responsible for the brain injury suffered by her son. Lauren Reed was prescribed Zoloft antidepressant while she was pregnant. Her son Griffin Allen Reed was born with severe respiratory distress, a key Zoloft birth defect side effect, at Anderson Hospital and suffered from brain damage due to lack of oxygen, as doctors failed to timely intubate the baby.
Lauren was treated with Zoloft during her pregnancy unaware that the antidepressant drug could result in birth defects in her child. Doctors at Meridian Ob-Gyn Associates did not take her off from the antidepressant or refer to a perinatologist. Zoloft birth defects led to the birth of the boy with persistent pulmonary hypertension, a disorder that impairs lungs to take over blood-oxygen circulation functions soon after the child is born, and congenital heart deformities.
Griffin was born with a PPHN, and failure on the part of the doctors to provide him with emergency oxygen supply resulted in hypoxic brain injury. The mother has sought $500,000 in addition to legal and medical costs for her son’s disability, pain, suffering, and loss of future earning capacity.
Zoloft Birth Defect Lawsuit: Antidepressant Side Effects
Zoloft SSRI antidepressant was introduced by Pfizer in 1991 to treat depression, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive disorders. The drug is also marketed in its generic name Sertralin. In 2006, the FDA and Health Canada issued public alerts warning about potential Zoloft birth defect in newborns, if the drug is prescribed to pregnant mothers. Zoloft carries a black box warning for potential suicidal tendency in users.
In 2009, a Danish research study found evidence linking withdrawal symptoms in newborns to the consumption of Sertralin by expectant mothers. It was followed by a study published in the British Medical Journal warning of high risk of heart disorders in babies born with Zoloft birth defects. In 2014, another BMJ report highlighted the potential risk of newborns suffering fatal lung disorders as a consequence of Zoloft birth defect.
A 2012 research report listed a number of possible Zoloft birth defects in babies born to mothers treated with the antidepressant. A compilation of findings reported by over 100 research studies and published in the Human Reproduction journal linked pregnant women using Zoloft antidepressant to heart and lung deformities, cranial and vertebra defects, neurobehavioral disorders, and abnormalities in internal organs in newborns.
According to a 2012 American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology report, Zoloft use by pregnant women enhances the risk of their babies suffering from seizure and neurobehavioral problems by five times.
Zoloft Birth Defect Lawsuit
About 600 Zoloft birth defect lawsuits seeking product liability against Pfizer are centralized at the Eastern District Court, Pennsylvania, for pretrial consolidation and coordinated proceeding. Judge Cynthia M. Rufe has been chosen to preside over the federal MDL. Dozens of Zoloft birth defect lawsuits are also awaiting trial in various state courts across the country. At least 25 of these litigations representing families from 18 states are filed in a Missouri court. The first trial date was pushed forward to January 5, 2015, three months from its original schedule, after Pfizer petitioned seeking more time to complete the discovery process.
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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