Last month, a Philadelphia jury awarded $2.5 million to a woman whose son was born with severe heart defects after she had taken the antidepressant drug Paxil during pregnancy, the Associated Press reports.

Michelle David was prescribed Paxil, made by GlaxoSmithKline, during her pregnancy. Two months after her son was born, he was diagnosed with heart defects and required five months of hospitalization to repair two holes in his heart. David, who had no history of heart defects in her family, sued the drug maker for product liability.

Paxil is in a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). In September 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning that expectant mothers who took Paxil during their pregnancy increased the risk that their child could be born of birth defects.

In July 2006, the FDA updated the warning after studies showed that expectant mothers who took Paxil were six times more likely to give birth to an infant who suffered from a potentially fatal condition known as persistent pulmonary hypertension.

If you have experienced any of the side effects associated with Paxil, contact the attorneys of Carey & Danis. We can help. Carey & Danis is a national law firm that represents individuals injured by America’s largest corporations.

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