Does Depakote Cause Autism?
Does your child have autism? Were you prescribed Depakote at any point during your pregnancy
Earlier this year, the attorneys at Zoll & Kranz, LLC filed a lawsuit on behalf of a mother whose child was diagnosed with multiple autism spectrum disorders (ASD) after she took the anti-seizure drug Depakote during her pregnancy.
Our complaint alleges that Depakote’s manufacturers, Abbott Laboratories and AbbVie, Inc., knew or should have known about the drug’s dangers and risks to a fetus when taken by pregnant women.
Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety release saying that pregnant women should not take Depakote for the prevention of migraine headaches and cautioning doctors to use the drug in pregnant women only as a last resort.
In April 2013, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published an article titled Prenatal Valporate [Depakote] Exposure and Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Childhood Autism.
JAMA concluded that the use of the drug during pregnancy “was associated with a significantly increased risk of autism in the offspring, even after adjusting for parental psychiatric disease and epilepsy.”
It took until August 2014 for AbbVie, Inc. to place a warning label on the drug about the potential risk of autism. In addition to autism, Depakote has been linked to spina bifida, atrial septal defect, cleft palate, hypospadias, extra fingers or toes, and craniosynostosis.
Recently, lawyersandsettlements.com had a story about a woman who stopped taking Depakote after she found out she was about six weeks pregnant— however, her child was still born with developmental delays.
How Can I Speak to a Depakote Attorney?
If you used Depakote during pregnancy and your child developed cognitive problems or physical birth defects, contact the attorneys of Zoll & Kranz. We want to hear your story and assist you with compassionate counsel.
Your son or daughter should not have to suffer, because a drug company failed to warn the public about a product’s safety risks.
Zoll & Kranz, LLC – Defective Medical Drug and Device Lawyers