A Wisconsin woman who claims her daughter’s birth defect diagnosis was attributed to her taking a drug for depression during her pregnancy is suing the pharmaceutical’s manufacturer in state court.
Texas attorneys Adam D. Peavy, W. Harris Junell and T. Scott Allen, of the law firm Bailey Perrin Bailey, filed the mass tort complaint Sept. 30 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Christine Kenney of Beloit, WI.
Kenney is suing on behalf of her minor daughter, Miracle Kenney, who will turn 9 in February.
The defendant named in the lawsuit is Philadelphia-based SmithKline Beecham Corporation doing business as GlaxoSmithKline.
According to the lawsuit, Christine Kenney had been prescribed the drug Paxil for depression, which she took while she was pregnant with her daughter.
After Miracle Kenney was born, the young girl developed multiple congenital heart defects including hypoplastic aortic arch with ventrical septal defect, which required surgery.
The lawsuit blames the pharmaceutical company, which designs and manufacturers the drug.
The lawsuit accuses the defendant of breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, negligence per se, negligent pharmacolvigilance, failure to warn, negligent misrepresentation, design defect, and strict products liability.
The suit also contains a loss of consortium count, and seeks punitive damages, compensatory damages for loss of income and reimbursement of medical expenses.
The lawsuit was filed as a short-form complaint in the mass tort docket for Paxil pregnancy cases.
The mass tort is made up of cases alleging that children have suffered from congenital birth defects such as Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN) or other related or similar conditions as a direct result of mothers having ingested Paxil, Paxil OS or Paxil CR during pregnancy.
A jury trial is being demanded.
The case number is 110903678.