Florida Child Injury Law Blog

Posts Tagged ‘congenital’

The makers of Paxil have settled almost 200 lawsuits in which the antidepressant is claimed to have caused birth defects.  The terms are being kept confidential.

 In the majority of the cases, infants were born with heart defects, the result of the mother taking Paxil while pregnant.  The most prominent case contended the child was born with no fewer than three cardiac defects, including a hole between the two chambers of his heart that disrupted the aorta.

 The news gets more disturbing.  It appears GlaxoSmithKline, the manufacturer, didn’t follow up with additional tests after initial animal testing indicated  the drug might cause problems.  In 1997, a memo from a company executive stated, “If neg, results can bury.”

 Plaintiffs have filed at least 600 cases alleging Paxil is to blame for congenital birth defects.  Paxil generates GSK nearly $3 billion in profits annually.

What brings on hearing problems in children? There are two basic kinds, congenital and acquired. Congenital means that the problem existed at birth. Acquired hearing loss appears after birth. Its onset can come at any time as a result of a disease, a condition, or an injury. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association provides a list of some examples of conditions in which children can acquire hearing loss.

 Ear infections (otitis media)
 Ototoxic (damaging to the auditory system) drugs
 Meningitis
 Measles
 Encephalitis
 Chicken pox
 Influenza
 Mumps
 Head injury
 Noise exposure

Physicians who suspect a child is suffering from a hearing loss need to act fast and order an audiologic testing to determine the nature and extent of the loss. Early treatment is essential so the disorder does not become irreversible.

Children learn speech and language from listening to other people talk. The first few years of life are especially critical for this development. If a hearing loss exists and goes unrecognized, a child does not get the full benefit of language learning experiences.

The American Speech- Language Hearing Association

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/causes.htm