Paxil Birth Defect Litigation - Settlements?
No Paxil birth defect cases have been tried since the October 13, 2009, verdict where a jury awarded $2.5M to the family of Lyam Kilker, a child born with a congenital heart defect caused by Paxil use during pregnancy. Though multiple trials were scheduled for December, January and February, not one even began trial. It is presumed that these cases, all alleging heart birth defects caused by exposure to Paxil during pregnancy, were settled by GSK.
Since Paxil came on the market in 1992, if has faced three significant litigations. GSK resolved approximately150 suicide cases reportedly for an average of $2 million. Other cases including 300 cases where it was alleged that consumers attempted suicide were settled for approximately $300,000, according to a December 14, 2009 report by Bloomberg News.
In cases alleging withdrawal problems, GSK faced approximately 3200 cases for which it settled for an average of about $50,000.
GSK has also paid about $400 million to end antitrust, fraud and design claims, Bloomberg reports. Since 1992, Glaxo has paid out close to $1 billion to resolve Paxil lawsuits. It has been reported that it may now be trying to resolve the nearly 800 birth defect cases now confronting it.