Lawsuits Against Wellbutrin
Posted by Lawsuit Information on July 29th, 2015
There was an .75 million dollar lawsuit settlement over Wellbutrin XL against Valeant Pharmeceuticals International Inc and GlaxoSmithKline. This was a class action lawsuit settled in 2013. If you took the drug or one of it’s generic equivalents especially while pregnant or nursing but not solely limited to that, you may be eligible to part of the settlement.
Wellbutrin is an SSRI antidepressant that has been the subject of lawsuits because of birth defects and seizures in babies nursing while their mother was taking the drug. While this is approved as an antidepressant, it is often prescribed off label as an anti smoking drug (called Zyban), as well as for bipolar disorder, ADHD and seasonal affective disorder (SAD). If you took this drug during your first trimester and your child experienced birth defects, you may qualify for a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline.
Some of the most common birth defects that people are filing lawsuits for include persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, heart murmur, hole in heart, ventricular outflow defects and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Other defects have included clubfoot and skull deformities. As early as 2005 it was known that antidepressants increased the risk of an infant having birth defects by 60% but this information is not being told to pregnant mothers. Other side effects of the drug include insomnia, nausea, headaches and dizziness.
Now the American Journal of Obstetrics states that infants are twice as likely to be at risk for birth defects like congenital heart defects if the mother takes Wellbutrin. That is a staggering number. The only warning on the drug is that the mother shouldn’t take it if the benefits are less than the risks of taking it which is almost impossible to determine when stated that way. It’s essentially withholding information about the danger of the drug.
Individual and class action lawsuits are being filed for septal defects like cleft lip and cleft palate, down’s syndrome, spina bifida, hernia and clubfoot in addition to the cardiac problems. So far cases are being filed on an individual basis and instead of a class action lawsuit although there are some you can look into joining. Hundreds of cases have been filed and many more are expected to be filed as the public begins to understand what has happened. There is also a higher risk for spontaneous miscarriage if a mother is taking an antidepressant.
Individual and class action lawsuits are being filed against GlaxoSmithKline and SmithKline Beecham Corporation as well as Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Inc (which was Biovail). Bupropion is the active ingredient in the drug that is marketed as Wellbutrin and Zyban (for smoking cessation).
The company is being accused of misrepresentation on their label and providing wrong information about studies done on them. The generic drug is also manufactured by Teva Pharmaceuticals, Anchen Pharmaceuticals and Impax laboratories and this company has been sued as well. In this case the drug is called budeprion XL. Teva has been sued for hiding information about the dangers of the drugs, mislabeling and providing the wrong information about the drug as well.
