San Diego, CA — March 25, 2015
Recently, a young mother (we will call her DG for privacy reasons), filed a Zofran lawsuit claim with Hood National Law Group, and her story is one of hundreds that needs to be shared to alert women of the potential dangers of taking Zofran while pregnant.
DG stayed healthy and cautious throughout her pregnancy by avoiding smoking and drinking. In addition, she and her husband have no genetic birth defects in their family history. Clearly, it came as quite a shock when their daughter was born with several major birth defects.
DG was prescribed Zofran her 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester and everything seemed normal up until week 27, when she had a stress test done and they found her daughter’s heart rate kept dropping. After this, an ultrasound was performed and showed that the baby had developed hydrops fetalis, which is a serious condition defined as abnormal accumulation of fluid in 2 or more areas in the body.
Because of this DG was rushed to the hospital to deliver her daughter prematurely. Her tiny baby was born weighing in at a fragile 2 lbs., 2 oz. Panic stricken, DG asked the doctor if the umbilical cord was wrapped around her daughter’s neck or tied in a knot, but this was not the case. At first, the doctor’s weren’t sure what was wrong.
The next morning, DG was told that her daughter was born with several birth defects. It was with a heavy heart that she learned her baby might not survive.
Some of the conditions and birth defects her daughter suffers from include: pulmonary hypertension, PDA with bidirectional shunting, PFO (hole in heart), craniosynostosis (skull deformation), hernia, jaundice, stomach issues (multiple surgeries), sepsis, two strokes, dystonia, and a blood clot. DG’s baby needs feeding tubes, tracheal tube, and a ventilator to breathe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
DG’s daughter showing cranial deformation.
DG’s infant daughter spent the first 13 months of her life in a hospital. She now requires constant nursing care at home. While in the hospital, DG and her family accrued close to $6,000,000 dollars for 24 hour medical care for their daughter.
Hospital bill for daughters care.
Today, this precious 16 month old baby is fighting for her life on a daily basis. She is certainly a miracle child, and we hope she continues on to be a strong little girl.
DG’s daughter requires constant medical help.
When DG filed her injury lawsuit claim with Hood National Law Group, she looked at her medical records and found that her doctor charged her for Zofran injections and pills under chemotherapy and related treatments.
Why did the doctor prescribe her Zofran?
This is a practice called “off-label use.” It’s a common method that pharmaceutical companies use to increase profits. Off-label use is generally legal unless it violates specific ethical guidelines or safety regulations, but it does carry health risks and differences in legal liability.
GlaxoSmithKline the maker of the drug Zofran (Ondansetron) was developed to treat nausea that cancer patients deal with after chemotherapy treatments.
Recently GlaxoSmithKline found a new market for this drug, women who were pregnant, and saw a potential new revenue stream that could generate millions of dollars in revenue for the company. They began a marketing campaign to doctors asking them to prescribe Zofran for women suffering from morning sickness.
DG and her daughter are true survivors, and their story spreads the message that Zofran may lead to side effects in their unborn children. If DG had been properly warned by a doctor of the dangers of Zofran, her daughter may have been born a full term, healthy baby.
When Hood National Law Group thanked her for sharing her story, DG’s reply was, “Thank you! I pray that justice is served for every child and family affected by this drug!”
If you or someone you know took Zofran and had a baby born with these side effects please contact us today.
