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Paxil product liability suit may affect users in Virginia

On Behalf of | Sep 17, 2013 | Products Liability

In a case that could affect Virginia users of Paxil, a US District Court judge granted a motion to remand the case brought by a mother against pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline that claims her son’s heart defect was caused by her use of the drug while she was pregnant. The product liability claim was made as part of a Paxil mass tort docket with what the judge called an unusually complicated procedural history. Records show that the woman’s complaint was consolidated with other Paxil pregnancy cases in 2011 to allow a judge to decide on their identical motions to remand.

The judge said that during the previous 18 months, plaintiffs in the case had vigorously prosecuted this case as part of the Paxil Pregnancy Mass Tort program. He said that for the previous six years, judges in the program had judged uniformly on discovery issues in hundreds of similar cases. He added that many scientific issues that had come up in the case that might have had to be re-litigated if this case were not remanded. If such a remand were not granted, he said, significant expense and delay would be caused by differing court standards for expert testimony.

Paxil is the brand name for paroxetine hydrochloride, which was developed in 1975 by the Danish company Ferrosan. Paxil is approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder, as well as a number of anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A Virginia attorney with a background in product liability litigation may be of service after a consumer death from a defective product. Assistance may be provided in the seeking of compensation for illness or injury resulting from the use of an unsafe prescription medication.

Source: DrugDevelopment-Technology.com, “Paxil – SSRI for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorders, United States of America”

Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “Federal judge remands Paxil case with long procedural history to Phila. Common Pleas Court”, Jon Campisi, September 11, 2013

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