Paxil Birth Defects – Paxil is a branded medication that was launched in 1992 by GlaxoSmithKline pharmaceutical company for treatments of patients suffering from depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders. The drug soon became very famous- not for alleviating pain but for its side effects, among which Paxil birth defects that changed the life of many US families.

Paxil Birth Defects – Facts

A major serious side effect of Paxil was found in cases where many women were prescribed this drug during first trimester of pregnancy; the babies born to these women suffered from malformations in systems related to the head, abdominal wall and the lungs. According to the FDA, in a study of more than 3,500 pregnant women, Paxil was linked to twice as many major birth defects as other antidepressants(Sept 2005).

Announcing findings of yet two more studies to look into Paxil birth defects, FDA reports showed that women who had taken Paxil during the first three months of pregnancy were about one and a half to two times as likely to have a baby with a heart defect as women who had received other antidepressants or women in the general population (December 2005).

Most of the heart defects reported in these studies included holes in the walls of the chambers of the heart.  In general, these types of defects ranged in severity from those that were minor and resolved without treatment to those that caused serious symptoms and needed surgery. Unfortunately, other birth defects led to death of newborns.

Paxil Birth Defects : How did this Situation Arise?

The drug was released by GSK to the market as absolutely safe for prescription. The company reported no undesirable side effect(s) during the clinical trials before its release for sale. Corporate giants like GlaxoSmithKline have exhaustive procedures for testing a proposed drug for all kinds of effects, beneficial as well as harmful, when it is intended to be used for any health related treatment. This is done not only before marketing, but is also followed up after the sale has started. The company miserably failed to protect the health of the users by not giving adequate warning of the possible Paxil birth defects.

The sufferings of Paxil consumers have led to a spate of Paxil birth defect lawsuits against GSK. In the famous Kilker trial in Philadelphia in October 2009, the jury found that the company had negligibly failed to warn the doctors of the risks associated with use of Paxil and that the drug was indeed the “factual cause” of heart defects in the child born to the woman who had been prescribed the drug during pregnancy. Needless to mention, the family won the case, and was awarded $2.5 million as damages. Many similar suits have since been filed.

Paxil Birth Defects and Other Lawsuits Force GSK to be more Transparent in Future

Suits like the Paxil birth defects case and many others forced GSK to rethink its policy of playing hide and seek when it comes to disclosing details of clinical trials conducted before release of various drugs for public use- the company has now announced that it was changing its policies to ensure that all drug research data are released within 18 months of completion.

GSK Settles Paxil Birth Defect Lawsuits

Notably, in July 2010, GlaxoSmithKline announced that it had settled a certain number of lawsuits alleging Paxil birth defects.

If you or anyone you know has taken Paxil for any condition and have gone through issues related Paxil birth defects, you may be entitled to seek justice against the company for not informing you or your doctor of the possible dangerous Paxil birth defects. Such medico-legal cases being difficult to deal with, you may need the services of expert lawyers who are knowledgeable about Paxil cases.

To find out if you qualify for filing Paxil birth defect lawsuit, feel free to fill out our Paxil compensation evaluation form above.

You will be informed quickly and you’ll know if you can file a Paxil lawsuit or/and get compensation for Paxil Birth Defects.

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