One news item that appears to have been overlooked by the mainstream media is news coming out of the state of Illinois where a three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court denied an appeal from Paxil (Seroxat) manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline to bring litigation against them to a halt.
Glaxo, without defending that Paxil caused birth defects in these children, had argued that the plaintiffs who lived outside of Illinois should not be able to bring a case against them. (6 of the 8 live outside of Illinois)
Plaintiffs argued that during the illegal promotion of Paxil (ie; GSK reps telling doctors that Paxil was safe in pregnancy) over 17 Paxil-related clinical trials were carried out in Illinois.
Judge Axelrood ruled in plaintiffs favour - Glaxo appealed and that appeal has been turned down by the three-justice panel.
The panel said...
“Defendant GSK conducted a part of its general business in Illinois, and plaintiffs’ claims arose out of the very trials conducted, in part, in Illinois,” the justices wrote. “The fact that the contested plaintiffs are not Illinois residents does not destroy the jurisdiction established on the basis of defendant GSK’s activities here.”
Interestingly, the panel also found that GSK’s sustained business presence in Illinois, including 217 employees who lived in Illinois, including 79-121 employees may have been tasked specifically with marketing Paxil in Illinois.
This, it appears, has become standard fare for GlaxoSmithKline. They no longer deny that Paxil can cause birth defects, they just try to get cases tossed using state laws, when they are denied this they then claim that although Paxil can cause birth defects, any plaintiff who alleges this is either wrong or something else caused the birth defect. They will also, more than likely, delve deep into the mothers history to see if they drank or smoked during their pregnancy. They may also try and damage the reputations of the mothers by trying to find out if they were involved in extra marital affairs during their pregnancies - all this, in efforts not to pay compensation - it's the act of a vulture picking on a dead carcass ~ although, to be honest, I'd rather spend time in a room with a vulture than one of GSK's hired suits.
This from the Cook County Record...
In 2014, eight mothers filed suit against GSK in Cook County Circuit Court, alleging their children “suffered catastrophic birth defects”
The plaintiffs alleged GSK should have known of the dangers of the drug from its clinical test results, and should have warned doctors and expectant mothers of its allegedly “significantly increased risk of congenital defects in babies whose mothers ingested” Paxil.
Instead, plaintiffs asserted GSK promoted Paxil as “being safe for pregnant women.”
GlaxoSmithKline's company motto, that they still use today, is...
We are dedicated to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, live longer.
It's a mantra that, I believe, goads victims of GSK.
As a father, myself, I am outraged. If I were a mother I'd be homicidal.
Plaintiffs are represented in the above case by attorneys with the firm of Tor Hoerman Law LLC, of Chicago.
GlaxoSmithKline was defended by the firms of Dentons US LLP and Cozen O’Connor, each of Chicago.
Bob Fiddaman
Related
Ryan, Glaxo's Non-Viable Fetus - Part I
Ryan, Glaxo's Non-Viable Fetus - Part II - The Twists
JANE NIEMAN VIDEO TESTIMONY GSK V KILKER (Paxil Birth Defects)
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