Drug Companies Sued Over SSRIs

Philadelphia, PAGlaxoSmithKline currently faces a number of lawsuits regarding its SSRI antidepressant, Paxil. Recently, a Philadelphia judge denied GlaxoSmithKline's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging the company's antidepressant, Paxil caused a man to commit suicide. Meanwhile, the drug company faces lawsuits from women who took Paxil while pregnant resulting in their babies born with serious birth defects. Other SSRI makers face similar lawsuits.

GlaxoSmithKline lost an important battle in the courtroom when its motion for summary judgment on Federal Preemption grounds was denied. In giving his ruling, the judge noted, "Defendant's position is clearly not sustainable. Federal law in question unquestionably places the duty upon the manufacturer and does not preempt a State's ability to allow one of its citizens to inquire into whether the manufacturer breached that duty."

The Collins family filed the lawsuit (Collins v. SmithKline Beecham, d/b/a GlaxoSmithKline) after Bobby Ray Collins committed suicide while taking Paxil. Collins, who was a fifty-four year old husband and father of two, was prescribed Paxil for stress-related depression. He had been taking Paxil for less than one month when he committed suicide. Furthermore, his dosage was increased less than two weeks before he committed suicide. Prior to his suicide, Collins had no history of suicide attempts.

Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, the firm representing the Collins family, has other lawsuits pending against GlaxoSmithKline. The firm is currently involved in a class action lawsuit against the makers of SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) drugs, which includes Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac. The lawsuit involves the risk of birth defects in babies whose mothers use SSRI drugs while pregnant.

According to research, women who take SSRI drugs in their first trimester of pregnancy have a higher risk of giving birth to babies with major congenital malformations including Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN). Other serious congenital malformations include omphalocele (where the fetus's abdominal contents stick out into the umbilical cord) and craniosynostosis (malformation of the skull caused by premature closing of sutures in an infant's head).

Many of the women who took Paxil and other SSRIs while pregnant now say they would never have taken the drugs if they had known there was such a high risk to the health of their babies. They say the benefits of taking the drugs did not outweigh the risks and wonder how the makers of the drugs could have kept the risks hidden.

Women who took Paxil and other SSRIs during pregnancy may be eligible to join a class action lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline. If you took an SSRI antidepressant during pregnancy and your baby was born with birth defects, contact a lawyer to discuss your legal issues.