Zofran Lawsuit Plaintiffs From Utah Allege Fetal Drug Exposure Caused Cleft Lip And Palate

April 01, 2016 – – ZofranLegal.com reports on the continuing increase of Zofran lawsuit numbers. The lawsuits are filed in courts from across the nation, and are later consolidated and transferred to the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, thanks to the creation of multidistrict litigation number 2657 by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. The MDL is now made up of over 200 complaints by plaintiffs who share similar allegations against Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, in relation to their anti-nausea drug Zofran. Plaintiffs claim that fetal exposure to the drug through their mothers causes unborn babies to develop a range of severe and sometimes fatal birth defects.

Many of the involved lawsuits allege that there is a link between fetal Zofran exposure and a heightened risk of the development of congenital heart defects in those babies. A newly filed lawsuit that is being prepared for transfer from the U.S. District Court of Utah, Central Division, discusses a different birth defect. This family claims that prenatal exposure to Zofran caused their unborn daughter to develop both cleft lip and cleft palate.

This lawsuit was filed under case number 2:16-cv-00131-EJF on February 19th of 2016. On March 2nd, it was reported that the U.S. JPML had issued a “Conditional Transfer Order” requesting that the Utah lawsuit be transferred to Boston, Massachusetts to join the others in the MDL. As is typical, the family’s attorneys have one week to oppose this transfer if they believe that remaining in Utah would be in the best interest of their clients.

Unfortunately, this is not the first Zofran birth defect lawsuit plaintiff to allege that fetal exposure to the drug has caused the development of cleft lip or palate. In fact, during a study conducted in 2012, results showed a link between Zofran used by pregnant mothers during their first trimester and a heightened risk of the development of cleft palate. In addition, Boston University and Harvard’s School of Public Health researchers reported that a review of birth records and conducted maternal interviews identified children who had been exposed to Zofran while in the first trimester of pregnancy. Children who were exposed were found to be more than two times as likely to develop cleft palate.

Within lawsuit documents, the family from Utah actually uses the results of this study as supporting evidence for their own case. They wrote, “a recent large control study detected a more-than 2-fold increased risk for cleft palate associated with ondansetron [active ingredient of Zofran] taken in the first trimester of pregnancy.”

While these plaintiffs anxiously await trial, the attorneys of Monheit Law are working to help other women who have taken Zofran during their first trimester and who have subsequently given birth to children with defects. Affected women, children, and families may be entitled to significant compensation gained through legal action. The attorneys of Monheit Law understand how important it is to help ensure that those affected are given the opportunity to investigate their legal rights in the matter. To help assist with this process, they are currently offering free legal consultations for qualified individuals.

To request additional information on Zofran lawsuits, or to ask questions, please contact the attorneys 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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