GlaxoSmithKline, producer of the antidepressant drug Paxil, was sued on July 28, 2006 on behalf of Adrian Vasquez of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Adrian was born with life-threatening defects on April 19, 2004 as a result of his mother’s intake of the dangerous drug Paxil during her pregnancy. Her doctor had prescribed her Paxil due to depression that naturally occurs with pregnancy, causing Adrian to suffer heart problems since birth. At eight days old, he began a series of three open heart surgeries attempting to repair his heart. In March, 2005 he underwent another surgery involving the placement of a pacemaker. He was finally discharged from the hospital on April 3, 2005, weeks before his first birthday. Adrian’s heart will require multiple surgical operations as he grows older, attorneys say, which may include operations adjusting the pacemaker, implanting artificial valves, and perhaps even a heart transplant. All of these surgeries are very risky for an infant, causing immeasurable stress to the family.
In the lawsuit presented in July, Glaxo was held responsible for these injuries under the allegations that they “promoted and maintained Paxil on the market with the knowledge of Paxil’s unreasonable risk to the public in general,” adding that, “by directly and indirectly advertising, marketing, and promoting Paxil for the treatment of women during pregnancy and by placing this drug in the stream of commerce knowing that Paxil would be prescribed to pregnant women in reliance upon the representations … that Paxil was safe and effective for the treatment of women during pregnancy and without significant risk to the fetus.”
If you or someone you know has been injured by a defective drug such as Paxil, please feel free to contact a personal injury lawyer such as Pomerantz, Perlberger and Lewis in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
