Knowing the possibility of potential side effects is important so that Ohio patients can weigh the risks before making an informed decision about how a medication may affect their health and well-being. Possibly even more important for some individuals, though, is knowing how prescription medication, when taken by a pregnant mother, might affect an unborn fetus. A recent case of pharmaceutical litigation in another state involves this weighty matter.
A mother has filed a lawsuit against biopharmaceutical companies Abbvie Inc. and Abbot Laboratories, alleging that they failed to adequately warn of the side effects of taking one of their prescription medications, an anti-seizure drug, during pregnancy. The medication, Depakote, contains an ingredient called valproate. According to the claim, valproate can cause birth defects when taken during pregnancy.
Per the complaint, the plaintiff states that she took Depakote in tablet form in 1999 while she was pregnant. As a result, she claims, her child now suffers from significant cognitive impairments. The mother alleges that she was never warned of the increased risk posed by taking the medication during her pregnancy.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants neglected to exercise reasonable care by failing to adequately warn pregnant women and their doctors of this unreasonable risk presented by taking Depakote. For this failure to disclose the dangerous side effects, the plaintiff is requesting judgments of compensatory, economic and punitive damages in addition to all legal fees and any further relief the court deems appropriate. Anyone in Ohio who has similarly suffered drug injuries due to undisclosed side effects, or those whose loved ones have lost their lives due to medication errors, may benefit from the counsel of a pharmaceutical litigation attorney, who can offer insight into how best to pursue justice and compensation.
Source: madisonrecord.com, “Mother claims creators of Depakote failed to disclose the side of effects during pregnancy“, Noddy A. Fernandez, Aug. 22, 2017
