A pharmaceutical giant will go to the ends of the earth to find a way to appeal a case. However, in the Topamax birth defect lawsuit involving plaintiff, April Czimmer, the maker of Topamax presented an appeal that didn’t hold together in court. A panel of judges in a Pennsylvania appeals court struck down Johnson & Johnson’s appeal in late August 2015.
The drug maker originally questioned the October 2013 jury verdict, which ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay the plaintiff $4 million. They argued that the jury verdict and the jury’s explanation didn’t conform to a Virginia Supreme Court ruling about the specificity of language used when describing how a drug directly causes an injury.
In the Czimmer case, that injury was a birth defect of the plaintiff’s son known as a cleft palate caused by Topamax exposure in the womb.
The panel of judges agreed with the jury’s instructions, and that the jury’s explanation did demonstrate the causal relationship between Topamax and birth defects. According to a Law360 article about the appeals court decision, the “three-judge panel found that jury instructions in the case were not at odds with a Virginia Supreme Court ruling”.
The decision to uphold the $4 million verdict is excellent news for Czimmer and her son―and for families across the US who’ve been affected by Topamax birth defects.
We can help you.
Our Topamax lawyers are currently investigating cases involving women who consumed Topamax during their pregnancy, and had children with birth defects, especially cleft lips and cleft palates. We offer free case evaluations, during which one of our Topamax lawyers guides you through your legal options, compensation eligibility, and whether filing a Topamax birth defect lawsuit is right for you and your family.
Contact Carey Danis & Lowe for your free case consultation today. You can reach our law offices by phone at 800.721.2519. You can also share your Topamax story with us online by visiting https://careydanis.com/contact/, and completing your confidential personal injury claim form.
We look forward to offering you any assistance that we can.
