Birth Defects Associated With Celexa®

Celexa is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant manufactured and marketed in the U.S. by Forest Laboratories. Celexa (citalopram) shares a similar chemical makeup to another SSRI antidepressant called Lexapro, or escitalopram. Lexapro is also marketed by Forest laboratories.

We represent hundreds of families across the nation whose babies were born with birth defects to mothers who took an antidepressant during pregnancy. Mothers who have taken antidepressants such as Celexa and Lexapro during their pregnancy because they thought it was safe have given birth to babies with birth defects ranging from cleft lip to life-threatening congenital heart defects and, in some cases, the babies have been required to get full heart transplants.

Our birth defect legal team consists of 10 attorneys from two prestigious law firms that have more experience handling antidepressant birth defect cases than any other firm in the country. We are presently litigating dozens of Celexa and Lexapro cases filed in St. Louis, Missouri, the only Celexa or Lexapro cases filed thus far. Through our litigation and consultation with medical experts, we are establishing the link between Celexa and Lexapro, and the following congenital defects and/or conditions:

• Abdominal Birth Defects / Omphalocele
• Anal atresia (complete or partial closure of the anus)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Cardiac (heart) defects
• Cleft lip and cleft palate
• Clubfoot (one or both feet turn downward and inward)
• Craniosynostosis (skull defect)
• Limb Defects
• Neural-tube defects (brain and spinal cord, spina bifida)
• PPHN (Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn)

SSRI antidepressants similar to Celexa and Lexapro have been linked to elevated risks of certain birth defects, including certain congenital heart defects as well as persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). Evidence gathered in scientific studies suggest that ingesting SSRI antidepressants like Celexa while pregnant may increase the risk of a number of serious birth defects.

If you have taken Celexa or Lexapro while pregnant and given birth to a child with a congenital birth defect, you may be entitled to compensation.

Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman and Robinson Calcagnie Robinson Shapiro Davis, Inc. are recognized preeminent plaintiff firms in the forefront of antidepressant litigation. Our attorneys have successfully handled over 3,000 SSRI-antidepressant cases in the past two decades.

Our law firms have created a joint venture in order to prosecute the firms' antidepressant birth defect and PPHN cases.  Both firms have many years of experience handling pharmaceutical product liability, mass tort litigation and consumer class actions against major drug companies. 

Please contact our firm if your baby was born with a birth defect and you took an antidepressant like Celexa or Lexapro during your pregnancy.