Topiramate Lawsuits

The Topiramate lawsuit is part of a larger class action suit against Plano, Texas health care provider Dr. Samir Melki, and his practice. On March 3rd, 2021, a Plano doctor was found to have withheld his medical records from the woman in question, and that same doctor had failed to deliver the required medical care for that patient, leading to the birth of a newborn boy with cerebral palsy. This is just one case of what’s known as an “at homeopath” or” chiropractic” malpractice case, and although the doctor in question has been ordered to reimburse the insurance company for his negligence, this particular physician is on the wrong side of the law, and may ultimately be found personally liable for malpractice in the end.

What exactly are birth defects and why is it that Dr. Melki chose not to treat this particular defect?

There are a number of conditions that can potentially lead to cleft palates or other birth defects, which have a variety of causes. Some of these causes include heredity (runs in the family), having a low birth weight during pregnancy, and/or certain types of surgeries. For the plaintiff in the Topiramate lawsuit, her son was born with a cleft palate, which is where the soft palate completely separates from the back of the tongue. (In laymen’s terms: it’s where the palate half sticks out.)

So what’s the answer to the question posed in the topiramate lawsuit? Simple.

According to leading chiropractic and headache associations, among others, the safest way to treat birth defects or cleft palates, both congenital and postnatal, is through a holistic approach to healing called the migraine prophylaxis. As the name implies, this approach believes that a patient’s dietary, mental, emotional, and physical health is closely connected to their likelihood of developing specific types of diseases, including such debilitating headaches as migraine headaches. Removing high risk foods and reducing consumption of migraine medications may in turn reduce the headaches associated with these conditions.

In the Topiramate lawsuit, the mother of one of the plaintiffs, identified as Jane Doe, claimed that her son, while healthy prior to the birth of his sibling, developed a chronic migraine headache after eating a large amount of fried calamari during a family outing.

Jane did not take any medications to deal with the migraine, but the chiropractor who diagnosed her child’s condition, Dr. Howard Topiramate, recommended that she use the topiramate derivative topamax. The complaint says that while topiramate does not list a side effect on the packaging, when consumed orally, topamax can cause increased migraine headaches, as well as nausea, vomiting, nasal congestion, and increased breathlessness. When placed in the nose, however, topiramate does not cause increased breathlessness-only a rare but noted side effect. The chiropractor who prescribed topiramate, Dr. Howard Topiramate, was disciplined by the American Board of Chiropractic Medicine for prescribing the drug without first seeking approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

The plaintiffs further alleged in their complaint that they were injured as a result of Dr. Topiramate’s actions.

Plaintiffs’ claim that they suffered from severe headaches, fever, and loss of appetite as a result of consuming the topiramate tablets 50 mg, and that their symptoms were worsened by the fact that they continued to consume the topiramate tablets after experiencing their migraine headaches. They further claimed that they lost a substantial amount of weight and were unable to resume physical activities previously enjoyed. The plaintiffs further claimed that they have suffered mental injury as a result of their inability to eat, drink, or otherwise partake in normal activities. As part of their topiramate lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking for compensatory and rehabilitative damages for their loss of enjoyment of life and for the injury they sustained as a result of the actions of Dr. Topiramate.

There are other class action lawsuits that involve the use of birth control medication, including one that was filed against Pfizer, the company that produces the popular anti-anxiety and anti-spasm drug, Depo Provera, as well as their generic version, Librium.

In this Pfizer lawsuit, the plaintiff’s attorney claims that the plaintiff suffered permanent memory loss as a result of taking Depo Provera and suffered “unexplained, confusing, and often conflicting thoughts throughout the course of several days.” The Pfizer lawsuit also claims that the plaintiff’s “loss of sex drive” was directly related to the taking of Depo Provera. Another example of a birth control lawsuit involves a lawsuit against Jannick, LLC, which is responsible for the production of the diet drug, Nupercainal, as well as its generic version, Actonel. The plaintiffs in this case are seeking compensatory and rehabilitation damages.