The Paxil Lawyers - Paxil Side Effects - Paxil Lawsuit

GSK antidepressant Paxil to blame for baby's heart defects, US jury rules

-Telegraph

10/16/2009 - A US family has been awarded $2.5 million (£1.6 million) in damages after a Philadelphia jury decided that the antidepressant Paxil, known as Seroxat in Britain, was responsible for their son's birth defects.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the British manufacturer of Seroxat, said it would appeal against the verdict in the case, which is the first of 600 such cases to come to trial.

Jurors in state court in Philadelphia deliberated about seven hours over two days before finding Glaxo failed to properly warn doctors and pregnant users of Paxil' s risk. The panel awarded $2.5 million in compensatory damages to the family of Lyam Kilker. The 3-year-old was born with heart defects his mother blamed on the drug.

Related Articles

Corby birth defects: worst child poisoning case since thalidomide

Antidepressants in pregnancy 'increase risk of babies suffering heart problems'

Corby birth defect commentary: a very significant ruling

Corby birth defect: ten-year struggle ends in victory that echoes Erin Brockovich

Swine flu alert for pregnant women and babies"The first win is always huge, especially when you get a jury saying the drug caused the injury," Sean Tracey, the family' s lawyer, said after the verdict.

The drug, approved for US use in 1992, generated about $942 million in sales last year, or 2.1 per cent of Glaxo's total revenue.

The company said in a statement: "While we sympathise with Lyam Kilker and his family, the scientific evidence does not establish that exposure to Paxil during pregnancy caused his condition."

Glaxo American depositary receipts, each representing two ordinary shares, fell 9 cents to $39.69 at 4:02 pm in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, after dropping as much as 1.4 per cent when the verdict was announced. Glaxo dropped 14 pence, or 1.1 per cent, to 1,246.5 pence in London.

In the Kilker case, jurors found 10-2 that Glaxo officials "negligently failed to warn" the doctor treating Lyam's mother about Paxil's risks and concluded the medicine was a "factual cause" of the child' s heart defects.

Glaxo is also fighting suits in the US, Canada and Britain over claims that Paxil, whose generic name is paroxetine, causes homicidal and suicidal behaviour. The company settled some suicide claims, under undisclosed terms.

In 2004, the drugmaker agreed to pay the state of New York $2.5 million to resolve claims that officials suppressed research showing Paxil may increase suicide risk in young people. The settlement required Glaxo to publicly disclose the studies.

In 2001, a jury in Cheyenne, Wyoming, ordered Glaxo to pay $6.4 million to the relatives of a man who shot his family to death and then turned the gun on himself after taking Paxil. The case was settled while on appeal, according to Glaxo's spokesman.

If you or a loved one have taken Paxil and experience Paxil side effects, have had problems with Paxil withdrawal while trying to discontinue Paxil use, have lost a loved one due to a Paxil suicide, or have questions about a possible Paxil recall; contact the Paxil lawyers of Ennis & Ennis, P.A. today and find out about the possibility of a Paxil lawsuit.