Paxil Birth Defects

Paxil Birth Defect Litigation

Zehl & Associates PC successfully represented over 160 families who had children with serious birth defects as a result of the drug Paxil.  The cases were ultimately for a highly favorable and confidential amount.

Paxil Birth Defect Lawyers

When pregnant, you go to great lengths to take care of both yourself and your baby. As an expectant mother, protecting your emotional well-being is equally as important as protecting your physical health. Drug companies led you to believe that by consulting a doctor during pregnancy and taking prescribed anxiety and anti-depressant medications, you were taking a proactive step in managing both your and your child’s health.

Unfortunately, many pregnant women were not informed that Paxil is unsafe for the fetus and may not even be effective for the treatment of depression (click here for a recent study examining the use of Paxil to treat depression). Over 25% of the 25 million Paxil prescriptions written each year are written to women of child-bearing age. Until 2005, however, most doctors were unaware that, when taken during pregnancy, Paxil substantially increases the likelihood of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension (a several lung defect) and congenital heart defects—such as atrial and ventrical septal defects, Teratology of Fallot, and Hypoplastic Left and Right Heart Syndrome—in the newborn.

Families who have children with heart and lung defects as a result of the use of Paxil during pregnancy have a right to hold the drug manufacturer accountable. If you suspect your child has a lung or heart disorder caused by Paxil, contact the attorneys at Zehl & Associates PC.

The attorneys at Zehl & Associates PC have been involved with litigation against Paxil’s manufacturer, GSK, since the FDA required the company to disclose the connection between Paxil use during pregnancy and congential birth defects in 2005 . Our lawyers successfully resolved 160 Paxil-related birth defect cases against GSK in Philadelphia State Court in 2013 for a highly favorable (and confidential) amount.

Paxil is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the largest drug companies in the world. Paroxetine, Seroxat and Aropax are forms of Paxil and are produced by other manufacturers. If your child suffers from a lung or heart disorder relating to Paxil or its generic equivalent, we will immediately file a lawsuit in one of several jurisdictions across the country, including Philadelphia, Pennsylvania— where GlaxoSmithKline is headquartered. At this time, there are numerous lawsuits on file in which Paxil is the alleged cause of birth defects. Some of our lawsuits are currently on file in California, Illionis, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, and many other states.

Risk of Birth Defects Increase With Paxil Use

The extent of these risks and the type of heart or lung disorder varies depending on the trimester during which the drug was ingested. Fetal heart disorders known to be caused by first-trimester ingestion of Paxil include:

• Congenital heart defects
• Right vent flow defects
• Atrial septal and ventricular septal defects
• Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
• Tetralogy of fallot
• Transposition of the great arteries

Paxil heart and lung birth defects can lead to multiple invasive surgeries, limitations on a child’s physical activities, and sometimes death. Additionally, a recent study has linked Club Foot to the ingestion of Paxil. If you have questions regarding Paxil and its effects on your child, contact the experienced pharmaceutical lawyers at Zehl & Associates PC today.