Topamax Verdicts for Plaintiffs
Two Topamax verdicts 
for plaintiffs came last year. Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals was ordered by a Philadelphia jury in November 2013 to pay $11 million for a case involving the anti-seizure drug Topamax and birth defects; and in a case the month before, a jury ordered the company to pay $4.02 million for a similar Topamax birth defects case.
for plaintiffs came last year. Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals was ordered by a Philadelphia jury in November 2013 to pay $11 million for a case involving the anti-seizure drug Topamax and birth defects; and in a case the month before, a jury ordered the company to pay $4.02 million for a similar Topamax birth defects case.
Jurors in November found Janssen failed to properly warn doctors for Haley Powell, who took Topamax in the first trimester of a pregnancy which resulted in her son’s being born with a cleft lip.
An attorney for Ms. Powell said that Janssen had long known that the epilepsy drug Topamax causes debilitating birth defects, yet the company, “intentionally kept this information from physicians and patients.”
The Powell verdict likely surprised defendants, as the case was hand-selected by them to go to trial. It was the second of more than 130 cases pending in Philadelphia over Topamax.
Janssen lost a $4.02 million verdict the month before in a lawsuit brought by a Virginia woman, April Czimmer, for birth injuries suffered by her son. Ms. Czimmer and other plaintiffs are blaming Janssen for failing to adequately warn expectant mothers of Topamax’ risk of causing birth defects that include cleft lip and cleft palate.
Janssen’s attorneys argued that both women were adequately warned of Topamax’ dangers.
The next Topamax trial is scheduled in Feb. 2014 in the same Philadelphia state court.
If you have been injured by a Topamax schedule your free initial consultation online or call us at 508-499-3366.
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