Paxil birth defects trial underway

Motley Rice attorneys began trial today (November 9, 2010) in the Paxil lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline. The plaintiffs allege the company failed to properly warn consumers that its antidepressant drug Paxil could cause birth defects. 

Motley Rice attorney Kimberly Baden said the company had research from the 1980's which showed the drug caused death among the offspring of test animals but didn't relay those risks to patients. Baden is one member of the Motley Rice team representing the Blyth family whose teenage daughter has three congenital heart defects. Her parents believe it was caused by Paxil and that the warnings issued to Paxil users were not "appropriate and reasonable."

The Blyth case is the first Paxil lawsuit to go to trial since a more than $1 billion settlement of 800 cases was reached in July. The Blyth case was not part of that settlement.

Read more about the Paxil trial in an article by Bloomberg news.