Baton Rouge, LAAndrea and Brad Frischhertz have filed a lawsuit against SmithKline Beecham Corp (dba GlaxoSmithKline) alleging that their infant son was born with Paxil birth defects.
According to the Louisiana Record, Andrea Frischhertz was prescribed Paxil to treat depression during her pregnancy. Her child was later born with birth defects, including an underdeveloped cardiac septum. The plaintiffs seek actual damages, including personal injury, medical expenses and economic loss. The defendants are accused of inadequate warning, breach of implied warranty and negligent misrepresentation.
In July 2010 another plaintiff, Jennifer Berg, reportedly settled her Paxil lawsuit with SmithKline Beecham (GlaxoSmithKline). According to the Associated Press on 7/19/10, Berg's lawsuit alleged that her son died shortly after birth due to Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN), a birth defect in which the infant's blood is not properly oxygenated.
The lawsuit alleges that Berg took Paxil while pregnant and gave birth to Nathan Berg on August 20, 2004. Nathan was immediately transferred to a Minneapolis hospital but died 58 days later.
"At the time Paxil was prescribed to Ms. Berg, GSK (GlaxoSmithKline) knew or should have known through pre-market studies and post-market studies and reports that Paxil was associated with an increased risk of PPHN in babies whose mothers ingested Paxil during pregnancy," the lawsuit states, as quoted by the Associated Press on 7/19/10.
Also in July 2010, GlaxoSmithKline PLC announced that it settled certain lawsuits alleging Paxil birth defects. The company did not give financial details about the settlements. A Bloomberg article reported that GlaxoSmithKline agreed to pay more than $1 billion to settle approximately 800 cases related to Paxil birth defects.
According to the Wall Street Journal on 7/20/10, GlaxoSmithKline said in a statement that the company "has reached agreement to settle certain cases involving the use of Paxil during pregnancy. The details of those settlements are confidential. Other cases remain pending."
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