A lawsuit was recently announced brought by 21 mothers who claim that their child was born with a birth defect as a result of taking the antidepressant drug Zoloft.  Zoloft is manufactured Pfizer.  Recently, many antidepressant prescriptions have become the subject of many birth defect lawsuits.  These suits have included severe birth defects and include fetal death.

The trend recently has been to downplay the potential side effects which results in many consumers not being fully informed of the risks.  Consumers have the right to know and have the full description of the risks before they start taking the pharmaceutical product.  The plaintiffs were not properly communicated to about the harmful potential side effects and thus have filed suit, hoping to recoup some monetary damage for the medical expenses, and pain and suffering their baby will now experience.

Alonso Krangle LLP is leading the lawsuits against Merck over the NuvaRing.  The claimed side effects include: blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks, strokes and wrongful death.  In Merck’s 10K it reported that more than 950 NuvaRing lawsuits have been filed.  These cases include effects such as blood clots, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, heart attacks, strokes or wrongful death.  Many class action and individual lawsuits are currently pending against Merck.  The majority of them will appear before a court in Missouri and New Jersey.

The prosecution claims there was a failure to warn the public and medical community of known and potential dangers of the drug, breach of warranty, consumer fraud, negligence, and common law fraud.  Consumers are also seeking punitive damages.  Many of the class actions are still accepting individuals who feel they have experience these side effects.  Contact one of them today if you have used NuvaRing and experienced any of the above.

A jury recently awarded $4 million to a breast cancer survivor for compensatory and punitive damages.  They found that her hormone-replacement therapy drug Prempro caused the breast cancer.  And, Wyeth, Inc, the manufacturer of the drug, failed to provide adequate warnings regarding the knowable risk.  Prempro was a dangerous product and Wyeth was negligent in testing, studying and investigating the risks.

The jury took less than a day to deliberate and deliver a verdict.  This indicates that the plaintiff’s case was strong and the link between the drug and cancer was clear.

Women who became pregnant while taking Pfizer’s contraceptives are now suing.  Pfizer issued a recall notice because some of the drugs were improperly packaged.  However, this has left many with pregnancies and a life-changing experience even though they were responsible.  Pfizer recalled one million packages of birth control pills, Lo/Ovral, and Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets.

The defective table packages included pills that were out of sequences or the wrong number of inert pills was included.  This left women unprotected for several days each month.  Consequently, women became pregnant.  The women who are suing are suing for the compensation necessary to deal with the consequences.  This could include doctor bills, loss of pay, baby expenses and more.

Topiramate is an anticonvulsant or antiepilepsy drug for both children and adults.  A study sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline showed the following side effects more common in this drug than its competition, lamotrigine,: parasthesia, upper respiratory tract infection, diarrhea, nausea, anorexia, and memory problems.  Other side effects include: psychomotor slowing, blindness, memory problems, fatigue, confusion and somnolence.

But, one recent FDA drug safety warning was very disturbing.  It stated that an increased risk of cleft palate, cleft lip and other oral birth defects in children born to mothers taking Topamax exists.  In 2010, two subsidiaries of Johnson & Johnson, the manufacturers of the drug, agreed to pay more than $81 million in fines related to the illegal promotion of Topamax related to unapproved (“off-label”) psychiatric use.  Topamax is also sometimes prescribed for migraines.  Lawsuits continue as more and more children are born with defects, and as more patients are prescribed this dangerous drug.