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Lexapro Lawsuit

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Lexapro, an SSRI antidepressant marketed by Forest Laboratories, has been the subject of product liability claims involving its alleged association with birth defects. Lexapro lawsuits assert that the drug maker is aware that the medication can harm a developing fetus, but continues to aggressively and actively promoted Lexapro for use by women in their child-bearing years, including pregnant women.

Lexapro Birth Defect Reviews

The nationwide law firm of Bernstein Liebhard LLP offers free legal reviews to individuals who may have been harmed by Lexapro and other SSRI antidepressants. If you believe your child developed a birth defect due to Lexapro, please call (888) 994-5118 to learn more about your options for filing a lawsuit.

Lexapro Litigation News

• February 2012: Three women filed suit against Forest Labs in St. Louis County Circuit Court, accusing the company of lying about the effects of Lexapro on pregnant women and their unborn children. Their Lexapro lawsuits blame the drug for causing several abnormalities in their children, including spina bifida and club foot. Read More
• 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. Lexapro and Celexa have the same active ingredient, which makes it essentially the same drug, according to the suits. Read More

Lexapro Marketing Plan Draws Fire

In 2009, investigators for the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee released documents which indicated that Forest Labs began to aggressively market Lexapro following its 2002 regulatory approval by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Among other things, the company’s marketing plan purportedly included ways to compensate physicians and psychiatrists for prescribing Lexapro. In 2010, Forest Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Forest Labs, struck a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and agreed to pay more than $313 million to resolve improper marketing charges involving Lexapro and two other drugs, Levothroid and Celexa.

“The False Claims Act complaint also alleges that Forest engaged in such marketing conduct in connection with Lexapro, which, at that time, also lacked any approvals for pediatric use. The civil complaint further alleges that Forest used illegal kickbacks to induce physicians and others to prescribe Celexa and Lexapro. Kickbacks allegedly included cash payments disguised as grants or consulting fees, expensive meals and lavish entertainment. The civil complaint alleges that as a result of the foregoing conduct, Forest caused false claims to be submitted to federal health care programs,” the DOJ said.

Lexapro Lawsuit Reviews

You may be eligible to file a Lexapro lawsuit if you or your child’s mother use this medication while pregnant and gave birth to a baby with a serious birth defect, including:

• Heart defects
• Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
• Limb defects
• Cleft Lip or palate
• Cranial defects
• Neural tube defects/spina bifida

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.