Zoloft and Pregnancy Lawsuit Allegations
The law firm of Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. represents families throughout the United States who are pursuing a Zoloft lawsuit against Pfizer after their children were born with severe birth defects and malformations due to exposure to Zoloft during pregnancy.
These complaints allege that Pfizer not only failed to warn consumers or the medical community about the potential link between side effects of Zoloft and pregnancy, but the drug maker continued to promote the medication for women of childbearing age and women trying to become pregnant even after they clearly knew or should have known about the risk of birth defects.
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Zoloft and Pregnancy
Studies have linked Zoloft use during pregnancy to:
- Ventricular Septal Defects and Atrial Septal Defects
- Hypoplastic Left or Right Heart Syndrome
- Craniosynostosis
- Omphalecele
- Gastroschisis
- Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the New Born (PPHN)
- Tetralogy of Fallot
- Pulmonary Atresia
- Limb Deformations
- Cleft Lip or Cleft Palate
- Spina Bifida
The size and scope of this litigation surprises many. Although a Zoloft MDL was just recently formed in the federal court system in April 2012, the centralized proceedings already include at least 138 lawsuits and it is likely that the litigation will ultimately include thousands of children in the future.
Some of the allegations raised in these Zoloft pregnancy lawsuits include:
- Based on early animal testing of the drug before it was introduced, Pfizer knew or should have known that if taken during pregnancy, Zoloft may cause birth defects and malformations.
- Prior to introducing Zoloft in 1992, Pfizer never tested the side effects on pregnant women or their unborn children.
- Pfizer not only failed to provide warnings for women and their doctor about the risks of using Zoloft while pregnant, they actually encouraged doctors to prescribe the medication to women of child bearing age, women who were trying to conceive and even to pregnant women.
- Although label warnings about the risk of birth defects were added to the competing drug Paxil in 2005, Pfizer failed to add Zoloft warnings, even though there was no justifiable reason to believe that Zoloft was materially less likely to cause birth defects.
- Following the concerns surrounding Paxil, Pfizer actually appears to have increased attempts to promote the drug for women of childbearing age or who were trying to become pregnant, attempting to capitalize on that population, which was now being told that they could not use Paxil due to the risks for their unborn children.
- Despite a number of studies that have demonstrated a serious risk of birth defects from Zoloft pregnancy side effects, Pfizer still has not provided adequate warnings for consumers or the medical community.
ZOLOFT LAW FIRM REVIEWING CASES NATIONWIDE
The Zoloft lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are continuing to investigate and pursue additional cases for children born with birth defects or malformations that may have been prevented if adequate warnings had been provided about the risks of Zoloft use during pregnancy.
To review a potential case for yourself, your child or family member, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.
1 Comment • Add Your Comments
Shannon says:
I recently found out that I am pregnant!!! But I am currently on Zoloft. I requested to be switched off of Zoloft and onto a different antidepressent that doesn’t potentially cause birth defects. But the soonest they can even think about switching me to something else is the 28th of this month. They just told me to slightly lower my dosage. So I will still be on Zoloft till the 28th and now I will be having bouts of depression because of a much smaller dose. I’m not sure if this is safe at all!!!
Posted on August 10, 2012 at 11:23 am