Zofran Lawsuit Plaintiff Claims Baby’s Cleft Palate, Clubfoot, And Respiratory Distress Developed Due To Fetal Drug Exposure

ZofranLegal.com reports on another lawsuit which was filed against the manufacturer of anti-nausea drug Zofran, GlaxoSmithKline. The plaintiff filing suit is a woman from Arkansas who alleges that due to fetal exposure to the drug, her unborn son developed multiple birth defects including cleft palate, clubfoot, and respiratory distress syndrome.

Her son was exposed to the drug through the mother while in utero. The mother states that she was prescribed Zofran to combat her symptoms of morning sickness, and that she took the drug during her first trimester. After being exposed to it as a fetus, her son was born in 2007, and required several corrective surgeries to repair the congenital birth defects that he had developed.

Additional lawsuit details indicate that the mother took anti-nausea drug Zofran during just one of her 3 pregnancies, and that this pregnancy was the only one of the 3 to result in a baby born with defects. Although the first trimester is a common time for women to suffer from nausea associated with morning sickness, it is also a time when the fetus does much of its initial limb, mouth, and heart tissue development.

Unfortunately, the plaintiff filing this suit is not the only parent to allege that their child developed defects in the womb due to Zofran exposure. Across the United States, over 200 families have now filed strikingly similar lawsuits against pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline. These lawsuits most commonly link the drug to clubfoot, cleft lip and palate, transposition of the greater vessels, tetralogy of fallot, respiratory distress, ventricular septal defect and atrial septal defect, and kidney defects. In certain cases, the noted defects have proven fatal, and parents have lost their newborn children.

Zofran birth defect lawsuits which were federally-filed have been transferred and consolidated to form multidistrict litigation No. 2657. Plaintiffs involved also share a common point of contention over the fact that Zofran was never approved by the FDA to treat expectant mothers, or tested for safety on these women and their unborn babies. Despite the fact that the drug was instead approved to treat cancer patients and those who have undergone anesthesia who are experiencing nausea, GlaxoSmithKline chose to market the drug “off-label” to expectant mothers as well as Ob/Gyns across the U.S. as a safe and effective morning sickness treatment.

The attorneys of Monheit Law are working to help other women who may have taken Zofran and who have subsequently given birth to children with defects. These women and their children could be entitled to significant compensation, and deserve to be provided with the important opportunity of exploring their legal rights in the matter. To assist those wishing to learn more about legal options, the attorneys of Monheit Law are currently offering free legal consultations to affected parties.

To request additional Zofran birth defect lawsuit information, or to ask questions at any time, please contact Attorney Michael Monheit of Monheit Law by calling (877) 620-8411.