Louisiana Couple Having Day in Court in Paxil Lawsuit
A couple in Louisiana is finally having their Paxil lawsuit heard in court. The couple claims that their son suffered from birth defects after the mother took Paxil while she was pregnant. The boy’s birth defects include congenital complications as well as a club foot. The parents are suing GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Paxil.
Russell and Desiree Figueroa are claiming that they didn’t actually know that their son was injured because of the Paxil until years passed. He was born on Nov. 12, 2003, and the couple believe that because Glaxo hid the adverse side effects of Paxil from the public, that is the reason they didn't immediately connect Paxil with their son’s injuries. Since the child was born before the FDA issued a black box warning on Paxil in 2005, this family’s case should prove valid. At the time of the warning, the FDA stated that a study existed that showed that there was a link between Paxil and congenital malformations in babies whose mothers took Paxil during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The FDA said, "Healthcare professionals are advised to carefully weigh the potential risks and benefits of using paroxetine therapy in women during pregnancy and to discuss these findings as well as treatment alternatives with their patients."
Desiree Figueroa’s lawsuit claims that she was prescribed Paxil by her doctor to treat depression and she wasn’t warned of the potential harm to her unborn baby or she would never have taken the drug. This lawsuit is interesting because she claims that since Paxil crosses the placenta, it is unreasonably dangerous.
Paxil lawsuits have been popping up all over the place. Almost all of the lawsuits against Glaxo allege the same thing — that the company hid the dangers that Paxil really caused to patients and hid the side effects to the babies of pregnant women.
