Celexa Lawyers

Celexa lawyers are filing lawsuits for birth defects associated with side effects of Celexa use during pregnancy.  FIll out our contect form if you beleive Celexa has affecetd your child.

The FDA has classified Celexa as a pregnancy category C medication, which means it has the potential to cause serious harm to a fetus when taken during pregnancy. Because of this alleged danger, the FDA has also advised physicians to avoid prescribing Celexa to pregnant women unless the possible benefits of the treatment outweigh the potential risks to the fetus. If you took Celexa during pregnancy and your child was born with a major birth defect, fill out the Celexa Claim Review Form to discuss your claim with an experienced Celexa lawyer. Your child may be entitled to life-long medical care or financial compensation for his injuries, which you can collect by filing a Celexa lawsuit against Forest Laboratories.

Celexa belongs to a class of prescription antidepressant drugs called SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These drugs work by increasing the level of serotonin in the brain, a neurotransmitter responsible for affecting mood. The active ingredient in Celexa is citalopram, and the drug was approved by the FDA in 1998 for the treatment of major depression in adults. Since its introduction to the U.S. market, Celexa has become an increasingly popular method of relieving the symptoms of depression. The drug is currently manufactured by Forest Laboratories and is also sometimes prescribed for off-label uses like treatment for panic disorder, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and certain eating disorders.

What Went Wrong With Celexa

In 2006, the FDA issued an important public health advisory warning patients and healthcare providers about the increased risk of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) among infants exposed to an SSRI antidepressant like Celexa during pregnancy. PPHN is a dangerous heart and lung condition in which a child's circulation continues to bypass the lungs after birth, preventing an adequate amount of oxygen from reaching the rest of the body. This notice was issued after the FDA reviewed the results of a New England Journal of Medicine study published earlier that year. According to researchers involved in the study, infants whose mothers took an SSRI like Celexa after the twentieth week of pregnancy were a shocking six times more likely to be born with PPHN, compared to infants whose mothers received no antidepressant treatment while pregnant.

A number of other studies have been published in credible journals like the American Journal of Nursing and Pediatrics, in which researchers have sought to examine the adverse side effects associated with fetal exposure to SSRI antidepressants like Celexa. According to these studies, infants born to women who take Celexa during pregnancy may have a significantly increased risk of developing one or more serious birth defects. Unfortunately, because many birth defects are established during the first trimester, and because nearly half of all pregnancies are unplanned, all women of childbearing age taking Celexa may be at risk of causing irreversible harm to their unborn child before they are even aware they are pregnant.

Celexa Lawyers for Birth Defect Lawsuits

Pharmaceutical medications with the potential to inflict catastrophic harm on infants exposed to the drugs during pregnancy should never be prescribed to pregnant women, especially for the treatment of conditions not associated with life-altering injury or death, like depression. Unfortunately, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, more than 80,000 pregnant women are prescribed SSRI antidepressants like Celexa in the United States in any given year. Among the birth defects allegedly associated with Celexa are PPHN, heart defects, craniofacial defects like cleft palate, neural tube birth defects, abdominal malformations like an omphalocele, limb defects, skull defects like craniosynostosis, and anal atresia.  A Celexa lawyer can help vicitms of birth defects by possibly filing a Celexa class action suit or an individual lawsuit for injuries related to side effects of Celexa.

If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant and you are taking Celexa, consult your healthcare professional immediately to discuss alternative treatment options. You should never stop taking a prescription medication without medical consent, as this may cause further harm to you or your child, but with your doctor's help you may be able to find a safer way to treat your condition.

How a Celexa Lawyer Can Help You

Although minor birth defects like cleft palate can often be successfully treated with surgery, many of the other birth defects allegedly associated with Celexa, like neural tube birth defects and PPHN, have the potential to significantly alter the life of an affected child, possibly even leading to death. If you or a loved one has suffered from a major birth defect which you believe to be associated with Celexa, contact a qualified Celexa lawyer to discuss your legal options. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your injuries and medical expenses, which a Celexa lawyer can help you collect by filing a Celexa lawsuit against Forest Laboratories. Besides the benefit of receiving the compensation you deserve, defective drug lawsuits also bring much-needed attention to the importance of safe medications and the need for more stringent regulations on the potentially dangerous drugs already on the market.

Consumers expect drug companies like Forest Laboratories to produce safe and effective medications, and to notify the public of any major side effects associated with their products. Consumers also assume that their insurance company will protect them from further harm following an accident or birth defect diagnosis. Unfortunately, some pharmaceutical companies intentionally conceal the more serious side effects of their medications in an attempt to make their product more desirable to the public and to avoid a drug recall. Similarly, some insurance claims adjusters intentionally reject personal injury claims or offer a settlement far below what a victim is entitled to, in order to save the company money. In some cases, the claims adjuster may even drag the claim out over a long period of time in hopes that the victim will simply give up. These deceptive practices prevent injury victims from collecting the compensation they deserve, while also exposing millions of other consumers to unnecessary harm or even death, without their knowledge. Celexa lawyers are experienced in defective drug litigation and can help victims of alleged Celexa birth defects protect their rights against the dishonest actions of big corporations. Celexa lawyers also have access to critical information pertaining to your case, including medical records, insurance documents, and professional testimonies from medical and scientific experts, material which may not be available to the general public.

How to Contact a Celexa Lawyer

Too often, injury victims are taken advantage of during their time of need; Celexa lawyers can prevent this despicable act from happening. Furthermore, following a birth defect diagnosis, a victim's family deserves to have adequate time to concentrate on seeking proper medical care for the child, without having to worry about developing a birth defect case at the same time. With the help of an experienced Celexa lawyer, victims and their families can feel confident that their case will be represented in an effective and professional manner. If you or a loved one has suffered from a birth defect and you believe Celexa to be the cause, fill out the Celexa Claim Review Form for a free claim review from a knowledgeable Celexa attorney.