In Zofran Birth Defects Lawsuit, Mother Says Drug Caused Underdeveloped Heart

September 22, 2015 – – Women across the country continue to file Zofran birth defects lawsuits, and many other parents may be eligible to file claims of their own.

Attorneys at Monheit Law, a personal injury firm based in Pennsylvania, say that more than 40 lawsuits have been brought against GlaxoSmithKline so far. Families claim the multinational corporation marketed a dangerous drug for an unapproved use, in violation of federal law.

One of the most recent lawsuits was filed on July 16, 2015 in the US District Court for the Sourthern District of Illinois. In her complaint, obtained by Monheit Law and made public at ZofranLegal.com, a single mother says Zofran caused her son’s congenital heart defects.

Michael Monheit, lead attorney at Monheit Law and sponsor of ZofranLegal.com, notes that the growing Zofran litigation began soon after two major studies found an association between the unapproved morning sickness drug and an increased risk for heart defects.

The claim was registered under case number 3:15-cv-00769. Plaintiff is a resident of Sandoval, Illinois, a small village 3 hours west of Indianapolis.

In court documents, the mother tells a harrowing tale. She says her exposure to Zofran began early in the first trimester of a 2011 pregnancy. Medical experts at the American Heart Association report that heart development begins almost immediately after conception, and continues until the eighth week of pregnancy. As many Zofran birth defects Plaintiffs have noted, this is the period in which women are most likely to be prescribed the drug.

Her son T.H. was born in 2012, the parent says. But joy would soon turn into tragedy: T.H. was quickly diagnosed with a severe congenital condition, hypoplastic right heart syndrome (HRHS).

Extremely rare, HRHS occurs when the heart’s right side fails to develop completely. In fact, the right side remains almost completely undeveloped, with tiny malformed valves and two chambers so small that pumping blood toward the lungs is nearly impossible. In most children, the pulmonary valve, which controls blood flow from the heart to the lungs, is entirely absent.

For some babies with HRHS, open-heart surgery is an option; all require immediate emergency treatment. But in severe cases, a pediatric heart transplant becomes necessary. Plaintiff claims T.H. underwent this procedure following his birth. His severely abnormal heart was physically removed, and replaced with a donor organ, his mother claims. The complaint provides no details on the outcome of the alleged procedure.

More than 1 million prescriptions for the “off label” morning sickness treatment are written to pregnant women every year. While over 40 Zofran birth defects lawsuits have been filed so far, Michael Monheit says there may be many other women who were prescribed Zofran during the first trimester and had children with heart defects. His law firm is offering free consultations to any family looking for information on their legal options. Call 1-877-620-8411 to learn more.

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Contact ZofranLegal.com:

Michael Monheit
1-877-620-8411
michael@monheit.com
1368 Barrowdale Road, Rydal, PA 19046

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