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Zofran Lawsuit Alleges Anti-Nausea Drug Caused Debilitating Heart Deformities

November 20, 2015 – – ZofranLegal.com reports on another lawsuit filed against anti-nausea drug Zofran and big pharmaceutical manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. This particular lawsuit was filed by a single mother. It claimed that her son’s exposure to the drug while in utero caused several severe birth defects in the boy. The mother, from Illinois, filed her lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois under case number 3:15-cv-00769.

In details from the complaint, the mother indicated that she was prescribed Zofran to treat nausea during her pregnancy. She states that she was never warned about the drugs potential connection to birth defects. She used the medication during her first trimester, which is also when a fetus does much of its heart tissue development. When full-term, the woman gave birth to a baby boy with multiple defects.

An estimated 1 million women annually, like this mother, are prescribed Zofran to combat symptoms of nausea associated with morning sickness. The drug, however, was never approved by the FDA for safety or use on pregnant women and their babies. Zofran was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration specifically to treat individuals suffering from nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy, radiation, or anesthesia. Despite this, current plaintiffs allege that manufacturer GSK marketed the drug as a morning sickness treatment to women and OB/Gyns, causing the “off-label” prescription surge.

In this case, the woman’s son was born with a debilitating heart deformity called hypoplastic right heart syndrome. The right side of the infant’s heart was severely underdeveloped and was struggling to deliver fresh blood. Additionally, in this case, the pulmonary valve of the heart was completely missing. Physicians had to give the boy a donor heart through a heart transplant surgery in order to keep him alive.

The details of this event are familiar to many women who have filed similar lawsuits against Zofran. The lawsuits commonly allege that exposure to the drug while developing in utero caused their children to be born with a range of birth defects. The defects most commonly mentioned include cleft lip and palate, atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect, transposition of the greater vessels, clubfoot, tetralogy of fallot, and kidney defects.

Nationally, as lawsuits against Zofran continue to appear, the attorneys at Monheit Law are helping to ensure that anyone who was prescribed Zofran while pregnant and who subsequently gave birth to an infant with defects will have the opportunity to investigate their legal rights. These families may be entitled to compensation. Monheit Law offers free legal consultations for those involved.

For additional information on Zofran birth defect lawsuits or to ask questions, contact Attorney Michael Monheit by calling 877-620-8411.

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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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