*** ZOLOFT ***
The Fox Law Firm is Reviewing Potential ZOLOFT Claims
Have you experienced severe health issues following the use of Zoloft?
Have your loved ones suffered adversely – or even died - after taking the drug?
If so, you should contact us immediately to protect your legal rights.
If you or your loved ones have experienced any of these side effects you may have a claim for legal compensation.
Contact The Fox Law Firm for superior legal representation.
A trade-name of Sertraline, Zoloft is an antidepressant that was introduced by Pfizer in 1991. Sertraline is primarily used to treat severe depression in adults.
In addition, it may be utilized to deal with the symptoms and effects caused by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD); as well as panic-disorders and social-anxiety disorders in both adults and children.
The most frequently reported side-effects that have been associated with Sertraline-based products such as Zoloft include nausea, diarrhea, insomnia, and sexual side effects, including a lack of - or decrease in - libido.
Far more serious side-effects have resulted from taking Zoloft, however. In July 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released an alert in which it was stated that the use of Zoloft during pregnancy in mothers of babies born with a life-threatening condition called Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN), revealed some serious worries.
Babies born with PPHN have abnormal blood flow through the heart and lungs – the result of which is that their bodies may not receive enough oxygen, and they may become very sick and may die.
The conclusions of the study demonstrated that babies born to mothers who took Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI’s) - the group of medicines to which Zoloft belongs - 20 weeks or later in their pregnancies, had a 6-times-greater-risk of having PPHN than babies born to mothers who specifically did not take antidepressants during their pregnancies.
Furthermore, also in July 2006, the FDA revealed that a potentially-life-threatening condition known as Serotonin Syndrome (which can be defined as serious changes in how the brain, muscles and digestive system work and respond due to high levels of serotonin in the body) can develop when Zoloft is used in conjunction with medicines called 5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptor Agonists that are designed to treat migraine.
Signs and symptoms of Serotonin Syndrome include the following:
In the case of Regina v Hawkins, a criminal case from the Australian state of New South Wales, Zoloft was described as being an important factor in David Hawkins's killing in 1999 of his wife.
Hawkins had been depressed, had been prescribed 50 mg of Zoloft a day; and on his first day of treatment took 250 mg. He claimed that on the night of the murder he could not sleep, felt agitated, and had hallucinations during the course of the attack on his wife.
A number of experts concurred that: "Zoloft can cause agitation and a certain amount of disinhibition so that some individuals engage in aggressive or dangerous behaviors without due regard for the consequences and in a manner that is out of character for them.”
Moreover, it was added that: “…the prisoner's behavior was consistent with agitated depression further exacerbated by akathisia and toxic delirium that developed as a result of Zoloft overdose.”
The court concluded that: "it can be seen that the medical evidence strongly supports a conclusion that, but for the effects of the 250 milligrams of Zoloft he had taken, it is wholly unlikely that the prisoner would have committed the crime to which he has pleaded guilty. Furthermore, it is common ground that his having done such an act is quite foreign to his former life history, his personality and psychological make up. It was also wholly inconsistent with his love for his marriage partner of nearly fifty years."
The most serious risks from Zoloft include:
Additional Information:
If you have a potential legal claim that you would like us to evaluate, please click on "Can We Help You?" in the upper right hand corner of this screen, and fill out our very simple form. We will contact you as soon as possible.
