Mom files class-action suit

Source: The Province (Canada)
Susan Lazaruk, The ProvincePublished: Friday, October 05, 2007

A Vancouver mother has launched a class-action lawsuit claiming the anti-depressant Paxil caused her daughter's heart defect.

Katie Jane Bennison filed a writ against GlaxoSmithKline, claiming the giant pharmaceutical company failed to warn her of the risk of heart defects in newborns when taken by women in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Her daughter Sophie was born in 2005 with a hole in her heart, which required surgery. Bennison alleges it was caused or contributed to by her use of Paxil during her pregnancy.

The action must be certified before it can go ahead. GlaxoSmithKline, the U.K.-based maker of Paxil, has two weeks to respond to the writ, which claims unspecified damages.

In September 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Agency issued a warning that detailed the results of a study linking Paxil to birth defects after an increased number of women taking Paxil during the first trimester of pregnancy had babies born with birth defects, including heart problems.

slazaruk@png.canwest.com