Zofran Lawsuit Filed into the Federal MDL Consolidation #zofran / #birthdefects / #productsliability

Zofran Plaintiffs allege exposure to the anti-nausea medication while in utero caused babies to be born with serious birth defects. Plaintiffs with claims against Zofran may now file their cases directly into the federal multidistrict litigation (MDL).

The current lawsuits were consolidated on October 15th, 2015 to form multidistrict litigation no. 2656 before the Honorable Judge F. Dennis Saylor, United States District for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The recent MDL consolidation is a win for Plaintiffs, allowing strengthened discovery while it is still early in the litigation process.

Zofran was initially approved by the FDA to treat patients dealing with extreme bouts of nausea and vomiting after undergoing chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or anesthesia. Although never approved for pregnancies, GlaxoSmithKline nonetheless marketed the drug to Ob/Gyns and pregnant women for morning sickness.

Now, many parents are claiming Zofran caused birth defects in their children that could have been avoided had Zofran been properly marketed.

This is not the first time that GlaxoSmithKline has been accused of off-label marketing. While it is not illegal for physicians to prescribe medications off-label, it is illegal for pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs off-label. Recently, GlaxoSmithKline paid more than $1 billion in government fines to settle allegations that it had marketed several of its drugs off-label, including Zofran.

Zofran is estimated to to have been prescribed to over 1 million pregnant women annually. Plaintiffs are alleging a connection between Zofran and babies born with serious and sometimes even life-threatening defects. These defects most commonly include cleft palate, cleft lip, and congenital heart defects.

Now that the MDL has been established, it is important for families to know that the sooner they review and file their claims the better. For additional information, please contact: