Victims suffering withdrawal symptoms from Paxil are
encouraged to contact the attorneys who are currently
prosecuting a civil action suit (a wrongful death of a father
and his two children) against SmithKline Beecham, the
drug’s manufacturer. On August 18, 2000, three California
attorneys brought suit against SmithKline Beecham in Santa
Clara County Superior Court alleging that the drug maker has
kept hidden the addictive traits of Paxil in order to enhance the
drug’s worldwide sales, which now comes to approximately
$2 billion annually.
In the lawsuit it is alleged that SmithKline Beecham has
intentionally understated the drug’s addictive traits. (To say
the least!) And the plaintiffs in this suit have asked the court
to compel SmithKline Beecham to divulge all they know about
that hazard to the federal Food & Drug Administration. This is
being done with the intention that proper warning labels about
withdrawal might be included with Paxil prescriptions in the
future to warn new patients of this adverse effect.
Victims of Paxil withdrawal are encouraged to contact the
attorneys in order that statements can be obtained and
evidence put before the court that the alleged harm is very
real. Any of the three attorneys handling the case can be
contacted. They are as follows:
(1) Donald J. Farber, e-mail: (n3dgt@…)
(2) Vince D. Nguyen, e-mail: (lawvdn@…)
(3) Skip Murgatroyd e-mail (skip-tracy@…)
They will need a complete description of the victim’s problems
with Paxil, including particularly “whether or not the victim was
warned on the drug’s addictive characteristics when the drug
was initially prescribed.” (Most likely to be featured on the
television program “It’s a Miracle” if they were warned about
withdrawal when Paxil or any other SSRI was prescribed!)
And they will need to detail the circumstances surrounding
the victim’s discovery of the withdrawal problem.
The attorneys do emphasize that reporting the problem to
them will not result in damage awards to the reporting parties,
but that any success in the lawsuit they are currently pursuing
will ultimately hopefully result in warnings for all future Paxil
users – the warning you did not get.
Ann Blake-Tracy, Executive Director,
International Coalition for Drug Awareness
www.drugawareness.org
