Pulmonary Atresia (PA) Lawsuit

Warning: Antidepressant drugs can cause a congenital birth defect known as pulmonary atresia (PA). This defect can occur due to medications bringing on premature labor, or in babies born at full-term. At worst, PA can cause problems with a child’s heartbeat and lead to sudden death.

What is Pulmonary Atresia?

Pulmonary atresia (PA) occurs when the heart’s pulmonary valve – located between the right ventricle and pulmonary artery – is not formed properly.
The pulmonary valve has three leaflets that function like a one-way door, allowing blood to flow forward into the pulmonary artery, but not backward into the right ventricle. In newborns with PA, defects with valve development prevent the leaflets from opening; therefore, blood cannot flow forward from the right ventricle to the lungs. Because of the low amount of oxygen provided to the body, pulmonary atresia is also known as “blue-baby syndrome.”

Risk of Pulmonary Atresia & Birth Injury with Antidepressants

A number of antidepressants have received considerable scrutiny in recent years because of the large number of life-threatening and serious side effects such as pulmonary atresia in children born to women who took them during pregnancy. Studies have shown that certain antidepressants are more likely to produce deadly side effects than other drugs.

Which antidepressants have been linked to birth defects?

The following antidepressants have been associated with the development of pulmonary atresia in children born to mothers who took them during pregnancy:

Treatment for Pulmonary Atresia

A drug called prostaglandin E1 is commonly used to help the blood circulate and keep the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) open between the pulmonary artery and aorta. Other treatments include heart catheterization, open heart surgery, reconstructing the heart as a single ventricle, or total heart transplantation.

Do I have a Pulmonary Atresia Lawsuit?

The Defective Drug & Products Liability Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in antidepressant drug birth defects lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new pulmonary atresia cases in all 50 states.