New lawsuits allege that the anti-nausea drug, Zofran is to blame for cleft palate in infants whose mothers took the drug at the beginning of pregnancies.
One Mississippi family claims that exposure to Zofran during the first trimester caused their daughter’s soft cleft palate. The lawsuits, filed against drug behemoth GlaxoSmithKline, were issued in the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on July 17, 2015. It’s believed that they are the first parents to file in the Mississippi Federal Court.
In January 2015, the Mississippi mother gave birth to a child diagnosed with soft cleft palate. With this disability, the roof of the mouth is split, which affects feeding, speech, breathing and language development. There’s no history of birth defects in this family and a previous child was born healthy and without congenital problems.
Are there links between Zofran and Cleft Palate?
While the drug is prescribed as an “off label” treatment for morning sickness, its efficacy hasn’t been proven and recent research has found a link between the drug and birth defects.
A paper published by researchers at Harvard and Boston University, discovered a 2.37 times increase in the chance for cleft palate after prenatal exposure to Zofran.
While 34 families have filed Zofran lawsuits in Federal Court, that number hardly compares to the amount of women who have been exposed to the pharmaceutical during pregnancy. Zofran use has soared to over 1 million prescriptions every year.
Carey Danis & Lowe can help with Zofran Birth Defect Lawsuits
If you or someone you love used Zofran during the first trimester of pregnancy, and a child was born with birth defects, then you or your loved one may be eligible to receive compensation.
Contact Carey Danis & Lowe for a free legal consultation. One of our Zofran lawyers will walk you through your litigation options, and whether filing a Zofran birth defect lawsuit is the right path for you.
Call Carey Danis & Lowe at 800.721.2519, or complete a confidential personal injury claim form.
