Zoloft Lawsuit Seeks Compensation for Child

A couple filed a new lawsuit dealing with side effects of the antidepressant Zoloft on November 8, 2012. They filed their suit with the help of a Zoloft lawyer in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Palm Beach County, Florida. Their lawsuit reflects a number of cases that have already been filed across the country–they claim that their wife’s use of the popular antidepressant during pregnancy resulted in their newborn child being born with birth defects including a chiari malformation, spin bifida, and a neurological compromise of the bowel and bladder systems. They are holding Pfizer responsible for these injuries and failing to warn of the risks associated with the use of Zoloft during pregnancy.

Zoloft causes significant complications

The child in the lawsuit was born in Florida on May 13, 2001, and has undergone a number of surgeries in order to correct physical malformations that were an alleged result of the antidepressant medication. Zoloft is an SSRI drug, meaning a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which has been on the United States’ pharmaceutical market as a treatment for depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post traumatic stress disorder since 1991.

The plaintiffs claim that drug maker Pfizer should have known about the risks associated with Zoloft and its use by pregnant women. However, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants chose not to make the information about Zoloft birth defects public, thereby continuing to put thousands of patients at risk for experiencing serious side effects or giving birth to a child who suffers from severe birth defects. The Florida parents are leveling multiple counts against drug maker Pfizer, including negligent misrepresentation, fraud, and strict liability. They say that the drug maker’s negligence has caused their child pain and suffering, psychological injury, and disability.

Studies corroborate evidence

A number of studies have been published, cited in many lawsuits, that link the use of Zoloft and other SSRI drugs to birth defects such as persistent pulmonary hypertension in the newborn. Clubfoot, omphalocele, and heart malformations are additional conditions commonly cited in Zoloft lawsuits.

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