Zofran Lawsuit Plaintiffs Address Burning Questions For GSK In Recent MDL Documents

ZofranLegal.com reports on the most burning questions of plaintiffs currently involved in Zofran lawsuits filed against pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. GSK manufactures the anti-nausea drug, and has now been named in over 230 lawsuits which were filed by parents from across the nation and consolidated in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. These parents are filing on behalf of their young children, and share common allegations that fetal exposure to Zofran caused their children to develop a range of severe and sometimes fatal birth defects in utero.

At this time, these plaintiffs are anxiously awaiting the “discovery” period of the upcoming legal processes which will give them additional insight into the results of investigations surrounding the drug. A major point of contention among these plaintiffs is that Zofran was never FDA-approved to treat pregnant women by the FDA, or tested for safety for this use. After gaining FDA approval for other purposes, however, GSK went on to advertise the drug as a safe and effective morning sickness medication for expectant mothers; a move that plaintiffs claim caused their children to be born with debilitating defects.

Although the Zofran lawsuits were consolidated to form an MDL, they have not been made into a class action, therefore, they remain considered individual personal injury claims. This process involves the creation of “plaintiff fact sheets” and “defendant fact sheets”. These documents will be filled out by the appropriate party, including each family who has filed suit, and will concern questions surrounding information deemed most important to the trials.

Recently, the Boston, Massachusetts court made a draft of the defendant fact sheet public, making several notable areas of dispute more apparent. It also helps to give ideas as to what questions are currently the most burning for plaintiffs. Understandably, many of the noted questions involve the physicians prescribing Zofran, and the communication that GSK may or may not have had with these medical professionals. Specifically, the document inquires about “Dear Doctor” letters, which are mass mailings issued by drug companies designed to keep doctors informed of safety information. In addition, it asks about “Medical Information Letters”, which are requests from physicians who wish to acquire more information about a drug’s potential risks and benefits. Plaintiffs have also requested information on visits by sales representatives for the drug, and whether or not these sales reps have ever, “received a written reprimand […] for his / her sales or marketing practices during the period of employment with GSK.”

Another topic of interest for plaintiffs is whether or not physicians have received any financial compensation from GSK for speaking or consulting services, along with several other questions. The true burning question for most plaintiffs, however, is why what they consider to be a dangerous drug was given to them “off-label”, and why it has allegedly affected their children in the way they claim it has. Birth defects discussed among plaintiff’s lawsuits include cleft lip and palate, respiratory distress, kidney defects, clubfoot, transposition of the greater vessels, atrial septal defect, and ventricular septal defect.

As these plaintiffs continue to await more answers, the attorneys of Monheit Law are working to help other mothers who used the drug while pregnant and who also subsequently gave birth to children with defects. Affected women, children, and families may be entitled to significant compensation attained through legal action, and should be given the opportunity to fully investigate their legal rights in the matter. To help facilitate this, the attorneys of Monheit Law are currently offering free legal consultations for qualified parties.

To request additional information on Zofran birth defect lawsuits, or to ask questions, please contact the attorneys of Monheit Law anytime by calling (877) 620-8411.