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Celexa Lawsuit

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Women who take Celexa during pregnancy may be more likely to give have a baby with a serious birth defect. A Celexa lawsuit may enable families whose children were harmed by the SSRI antidepressant obtain compensation for their child’s pain and suffering.

Celexa Legal Consultations

The nationwide law firm of Bernstein Liebhard LLP is now offering free legal reviews to families concerned that Celexa may have contributed to their child’s birth defect. To learn more, please call (888) 994-5118.

Celexa Litigation News

• June 2015: 12 families have filed lawsuits in West Virginia’s Cabell County Circuit Court, all of which claim that Lexapro or Celexa caused birth defects in children. The two medications have the same active ingredient, which makes it essentially the same drug, according to the suits. Read More
• 2006: Celexa and Lexapro lawsuits involving the medications’ alleged association with suicide are centralized U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri. As of June 2013, 32 cases had settled and the remaining had been sent back to their court of origination for trial.
• 2009: A federal multidistrict litigation was established in the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts for cases involving the alleged off-label marketing of Celexa and Lexapro for use in children.

Celexa and Pregnancy

Celexa is a selective serotonin inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1988. It is currently categorized by the FDA in Pregnancy Category C, which indicates that its effects on a developing pregnancy are not well studied. As such, Celexa should only be prescribed to expectant mothers when the benefits clearly outweigh the risks.

Plaintiffs who have filed Celexa birth defects lawsuits claim that pre-natal exposure to the SSRI antidepressant may result in a number of congenital abnormalities including:

• Hypoplastic left heart syndrome
• Spina bifida
• Anencephaly
• Craniosynostosis
• Omphalocele
• Club foot
• Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)

Danish Study Links Celexa to Birth Defects

In 2009, a Danish study published in the British Medical Journal found that first-trimester use of Celexa was associated with a 2.5-fold increase in the risk major heart birth defects, particularly septal heart defects.

Research Suggests SSRIs May Up Autism Risk

Research published in 2015 in JAMA Pediatrics suggested that antidepressants taken during pregnancy increased the risk of having a baby later diagnosed with autism by 87%. However, mothers who took Celexa or other SSRI has a 200% increase in risk, especially when taken during the second and third trimester.

Learn More About Filing a Celexa Lawsuit

You may be eligible to file a Celexa lawsuit if you or your child’s mother used this medication while pregnant and gave birth to a baby with a serious birth defect. To find out if you might qualify for compensation, please call (888) 994-5118 to discuss you case with an attorney at Bernstein Liebhard LLP.