A lawsuit has been filed in California Superior Court on behalf of an Oakland woman who allegedly took Zofran during early pregnancy and gave birth to a child with a severe heart defect.
Free Confidential Lawsuit Evaluation: If your child or other loved one was born with a birth defect after the mother took Zofran during pregnancy, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a suit against the manufacturer and our lawyers can help.
Lawsuit Alleges Heart Defect Caused by Zofran
According to court documents, the baby’s mother was prescribed Zofran (generic: ondansetron) for morning sickness during her first trimester of pregnancy. Her baby boy, who was born in 2010, was subsequently diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia, a birth defect that occurs when the heart beats extremely fast due to a malfunction in the organ’s electrical system. The complaint alleges the defect was the direct and proximate result of the baby’s exposure to Zofran in the womb. The lawsuit is: Lampkin v. GlaxoSmithKline, et al, case number RG15761042 in the Superior Court for California, County of Alameda.
What is Supraventricular Tachycardia?
Supraventricular tachycardia, or SVT, is a rapid heart rate caused by electrical impulses that originate above the heart’s ventricles. The condition does not include tachycardia rhythms that originate from the ventricles (ventricular tachycardias) such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. SVT may also be referred to as paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, or PSVT.
Symptoms
Supraventricular tachycardia symptoms include:
- A racing or fluttering feeling in the chest (palpitations)
- Chest discomfort (pressure, tightness, pain)
- Lightheadedness
- Fainting (syncope)
- Shortness of breath
- Pounding pulse
- Sweating
- Tightness in the throat
Complaints Mounting Against GSK
The Lampkin case, which was filed March 6, marks at least the third Zofran lawsuit to be filed against GSK since last month, all of which allege the drug caused serious congenital birth defects. On Feb. 12, a suit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by a Minnesota mother who claims Zofran caused her 2 children to born with severe heart defects (Case 2:15-cv-00709-PDC). According to the suit, plaintiff Cheri Flynn’s first child was born prematurely in 2004, and subsequently diagnosed with a cardiac septal defect (“hole in the heart”) and significant developmental delays. Her second child, born in 2006, also suffered from a heart defect that required round-the-clock monitoring. Plaintiff alleges she took Zofran for morning sickness during both pregnancies.
Four days later the Pennsylvania lawsuit was filed, another complaint was entered in Massachusetts on behalf of a mother whose baby daughter was allegedly born with defects after being exposed to Zofran during pregnancy (Case 1:15-cv-10429).
Lawsuit Allegations
All of the complaints cite much of the same evidence to support their allegations, including studies linking Zofran to heart defects, orofacial clefts and other congenital malformations. Among other things, the lawsuits allege that since 1992, GSK has received over 200 reports of birth defects in babies born to mothers who took Zofran during early pregnancy. Plaintiffs also accuse the company of illegally marketing Zofran to treat morning sickness, when the drug has never been approved for such an indication.
California Mother Blames Zofran for Child’s Cleft Lip / Cleft Palate
September 1 – Lawsuit filed today in the Central District of California by a mother who blames GSK for failing to warn about the risk of birth defects from Zofran. According to the complaint, the woman took Zofran for morning sickness during her first and second trimesters of pregnancy. Her daughter was born on October 10, 2012, and subsequently diagnosed with congenital oral defects including cleft lip and cleft palate. Plaintiff asserts that she has no family history of neural tube defects, and that her daughter’s problems are the result of exposure to Zofran in the womb.
Family Alleges Daughter’s Heart Defects Caused by Zofran
September 29 – An Alameda County couple filed a lawsuit today in San Francisco federal court alleging that the mother’s use of Zofran during pregnancy caused their daughter to be born with severe heart damage that required open heart surgery. The complaint accuses GSK of negligence, misrepresentation, concealment, breach of warranty and violations of California law. Click here to learn more.
Florida Couple Sues GSK for Son’s Cleft Lip/Cleft Palate
November 6 – A man and wife from Florida filed suit against GSK today in a federal court in San Francisco alleging that the woman’s use of Zofran for morning sickness during pregnancy caused their son to be born with a bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate. The boy underwent his first medical intervention within weeks of being born and had has first surgery before the age of one year, yet continues to suffer developmental delays and problems with eating, drinking and hearing, according to the complaint. Click here to learn more.
Do I Have a Zofran Lawsuit?
The Product Liability & Defective Drug Litigation Group at our law firm is an experienced team of trial lawyers that focus on the representation of plaintiffs in Zofran Lawsuits. We are handling individual litigation nationwide and currently accepting new birth defects cases in all 50 states.
Free Confidential Case Evaluation: Again, if your child or other loved one was born with a birth defect after the mother took Zofran in pregnancy, you should contact our law firm immediately. You may be entitled to compensation by filing a class action suit and our lawyers can help.