Zofran Lawsuit Plaintiffs Allege Fetal Drug Exposure Caused Infant’s Development Of Atrial Septal Defect

March 02, 2016 – – ZofranLegal.com reports on the details of another lawsuit which has been filed in Louisiana against corporate giant and Zofran manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. The plaintiffs, the parents of a young boy, used the lawsuit to address complaints they have regarding Zofran, an anti-nausea drug. The parents claim that fetal exposure to the drug through the mother caused their son to develop severe heart defects, specifically: atrial septal defect and partial anomalous pulmonary venous return.

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return is generally a rare congenital heart defect which causes pulmonary vein blood to circulate incorrectly, returning to the right atrium rather than the left atrium. Atrial septal defect occurs when the heart develops a hole in its wall (or septum) which typically separates its chambers to make blood pumping effective. The hole, however, makes this separation and effective pumping impossible, by causing oxygen rich blood to mix with oxygen poor blood inside of the heart. An infant born with each of these congenital defects would have lots of trouble developing oxygenated blood, and, for this reason, can appear to have a bluish hue to their skin or fingernails.

The mother claims in her legal documents that she was prescribed Zofran by her physician because she was suffering from nausea associated with morning sickness during her first trimester of pregnancy. This is a very common time for pregnant women to experience bouts of nausea and vomiting, unfortunately, it is also a time when the unborn baby’s cells begin to rapidly divide and it completes its first heart, mouth, and limb tissue formation.

Many plaintiffs share a common point of contention against Zofran manufacturer GSK: the drug was never approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat expectant mothers or tested for safety on this consumer group or their unborn babies. In fact, research showed clinical testing done on animals also highlighted a problem when the drug was given to pregnant animals. Despite these facts, however, after the drug was given FDA approval specifically to treat patients struggling with nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy, radiation, or anesthesia, GSK marketed the drug “off-label” as a treatment for morning sickness, and also advertised Zofran this way to the public and Ob/Gyns across the nation, leading to “off-label” prescriptions.

Across the nation, there are mounting lawsuits from plaintiffs who similarly allege that Zofran caused a range of birth defects to develop in their children, from cleft lip and palate, to clubfoot, and congenital heart defects. Lawsuits which have been filed against GSK have now been consolidated by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to form MDL No. 2657. The cases involved are being overseen by the Honorable Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston, Massachusetts.

As the many plaintiffs await their day in court, the attorneys of Monheit Law are working to assist anyone who may have been affected by the drug, ensuring that they will be provided the opportunity to investigate their legal rights in full. Those who feel they were affected may be eligible for legal action and significant compensation. At this time, Monheit Law is also offering free legal consultations to affected parties, in an effort to help them seek justice.

To request further information on Zofran birth defect lawsuits, or to ask questions, contact Michael Monheit, Esq., lead attorney of Monheit Law, 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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