What are the Benefits of Filing an SSRI Lawsuit?

Many women suffer from depression during pregnancy and are prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants to help with their depression. Popular SSRI antidepressants include Zoloft, Paxil, and Prozac. Unfortunately, many of the women taking these SSRI drugs during pregnancy are unaware of the increased risk of having a baby born with an SSRI birth defect.

If your family has a child affected by an SSRI birth defect, it can have a long term impact on the family. If corrective surgery or long-term treatments for the SSRI birth defects are required, the medical bills can be a financial burden. And, an SSRI birth defect can cause emotional strain and pain.

By filing an SSRI birth defect lawsuit against the manufacturer of the medication, you have an opportunity to receive compensation for medical bills, damages, pain, and suffering.

Our SSRI lawsuit attorneys are conducting case reviews for SSRI birth defect lawsuits nationwide. If you or a loved one took an SSRI antidepressant during pregnancy and had a child born with a birth defect, you may have rights to compensation.

SSRI drugs increase the risk of birth defects

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a group of antidepressants used to treat types of anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The SSRI drugs work by increasing the levels of serotonin in the brain. More than 20 million Americans are treated with antidepressants and the majority of these antidepressants are in the SSRI class.

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant class includes Zoloft, Effexor, Prozac, Pristiq, Paxil, Lexapro, and Celexa. These widely prescribed SSRI medications are linked to a dramatic increase in SSRI birth defects if taken during pregnancy, particularly the first trimester.

A recent study in the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) demonstrated that the use of these SSRI antidepressants during pregnancy increased the likelihood of having a child born with the SSRI birth defect PPHN. Mothers who took an SSRI, particularly during the latter half of pregnancy were 6 times more likely to have a baby with PPHN, or Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Newborn.

Another study from Denmark in 2005 demonstrated that women who take a type of SSRI when pregnant increase the danger of giving birth to a newborn with a SSRI heart defect. The study showed how taking Zoloft during the first trimester have a 60% higher chance of having a baby with an SSRI heart defect like a hole in heart, ventricular septal defects (VSD), or tetralogy of fallot (TOF).

Other birth defects caused by SSRI use during pregnancy include spina bifida, neural tube defects, PPHN, cranial birth defects, infant Omphalocele, clubfoot, anal atresia, cleft lip, cleft palate, and limb defects. Many of these SSRI defects will affect the child long term and require corrective surgery and treatments.

Can an SSRI lawsuit help your family?

In recent years, people are becoming more and more aware of the links between the SSRI antidepressant use during pregnancy and the occurrences of certain types of SSRI birth defects. Although the drug companies have some warnings on the labels, families affected by SSRI birth defects don’t believe that the companies had adequate warnings about the dangers of the SSRI antidepressants when taken prenatally.

If you or someone close to you took an SSRI such as Zoloft or Paxil when pregnant and gave birth to a child with an SSRI birth defect, you should consult with an SSRI lawsuit attorney. An SSRI lawyer with experience in pharmaceutical litigation can help you receive compensation for current and future medical expenses, pain, suffering, and injuries.