Paxil Five-Year Litigation History

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By Evelyn Pringle (about the author) Page 2 of 9 page(s)

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To resolve the matter, Glaxo supposedly recalled all of the lots of Paxil CR made before November 2004, and agreed to an independent quality review of the manufacturing.

But now here we are in October 2005, with Glaxo still putting patients at risk due to the exact same wrongdoing.

When it comes to civil lawsuits against Glaxo, a steady stream of cases have been filed as a result of Glaxo's concealment of the known dangers associated with Paxil, including an increased risk of suicide, birth defects, violence and withdrawal syndrome.

But the company's most egregious conduct, many critics say, in light of all the serious adverse effects now linked to Paxil, was the concealment of the fact that with many patients, and especially children and adolescents, Paxil does not even work.

Glaxo has clearly put profits over patients when marketing Paxil. While concealing clinical trials that showed Paxil was ineffective and could cause children to commit suicide, according to New York state Attorney General, Elliott Spitzer, Glaxo raked in $55 million by selling Paxil to adolescents and children in 2002 alone, when more than two million prescriptions were written for pediatric patients.

The Los Angeles based Baum Hedlund law firm is handling lawsuits involving Paxil related child suicides. On March 23, 2006, the firm filed a national class action lawsuit against Glaxo on behalf of the mother of Trevor Blain, an 11-year old Kansas boy who committed suicide after being prescribed Paxil, and Tonya Brooks from Texas who attempted suicide while taking Paxil.

Trevor Blain was prescribed Paxil for "separation anxiety disorder" in October 2000 and he immediately began having angry outbursts and sleeping problems. However being the side effects of Paxil were not discussed with his parents, they did not realize that the troubling behavior could be linked to the drug.

Trevor continued to take Paxil until early November 2000, when he hanged himself in the family laundry room using his dog's leash. After the suicide attempt, Trevor remained in a coma until he died on December 7, 2000.

Plaintiff Tonya Brooks, age 17, was prescribed Paxil in 2004 after being diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. She too became agitated, aggressive and had sleep problems but was unaware that she might be experiencing the adverse effects from Paxil.

Tonya first attempted suicide by taking an overdose of Paxil and Ambien, a sleeping medication, and when that attempt was unsuccessful, she took a pair of scissors and gouged a hole in her leg two days later and was hospitalized for several days.

The two named plaintiffs in the case seek to represent all individuals under the age of 18 in the US who attempted suicide while taking Paxil, or the families of individuals who killed themselves while taking the drug.

The lawsuit's claims against Glaxo include fraud, negligence, strict liability and breach of warranty.

The Baum Hedlund firm has been handling SSRI lawsuits since 1990, and served on the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in the first suicide related case involving Prozac, the first SSRI approved by the FDA.

Baum Hedlund partner, Karen Barth Menzies leads the firm's SSRI Department and was Lead Counsel for the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in Paxil Products Liability Litigation.

Ms Menzies' advocacy efforts on behalf of SSRI suicide victims have not been limited to the legal arena. She has also testified on the matter before the California State Assembly and the FDA's psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee and has met with members of Congress from both the House of Representatives and the Senate regarding the risk of SSRI induced suicidality.

The firm is also now handling Paxil birth defect litigation. On July 28, 2006, Baum Hedlund filed a lawsuit on behalf of the parents of Adrian Vasquez, who was born with life-threatening birth defects on April 19, 2004, as a result of his mother unwittingly taking Paxil during pregnancy.

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