PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

A couple from Nevada who claim their child was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate as a

result of the mother having taken the drug Topamax during pregnancy have filed a pharmaceutical mass tort claim against the makers of the drug in state court.

Philadelphia attorneys James R. Ronca and Sol H. Weiss, of the firm Anapol Schwartz, along with Minnesota attorneys Rolf T. Fiebiger and Johnson Becker, filed the civil action July 31 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Sue Ann Navarro and Pedro Navarro.

The couple is suing in their capacity as guardians of their minor son, Gustavo Navarro-Gomez.

The lawsuit, which was filed as a short-form complaint in the master Topamax/Topiramate litigation at Common Pleas Court, claims that Gustavo Navarro-Gomez sustained his injuries at the time of his birth back in the spring of 2007.

Sue Ann Navarro had been prescribed the drug Topamax to control her migraines and bi-polar disorder, the lawsuit shows.

The plaintiff ingested the pharmaceutical for a six-month period from June to December 2006, according to the complaint.

The defendants named in the lawsuit are Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc.

In their complaint, the plaintiffs claim they’ve suffered economic losses and loss of consortium as a result of their son’s injuries.

The complaint contains counts of strict product liability-failure to warn; strict product liability-design defect; negligence; negligent design; fraud, misrepresentation and suppression; constructive fraud; breach of express and implied warranties; and gross negligence/malice.

The plaintiffs seek damages as set forth in the master Topamax/Topiramate litigation at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court.

A jury trial is being demanded.

 

The case ID number is 120704125.