UK families denied legal aid for epilepsy drug sodium valproate court case against Sanofi-Aventis

8 November 2010

Dozens of families in Britain, who blame an epilepsy drug for causing birth defects in their children, say they are devastated that legal aid to sue its maker has been withdrawn, the UK’s public broadcaster the BBC revealed this morning.

Women who took sodium valproate in the 1990s claim they were not given adequate warnings of possible harm. The Legal Services Commission, which runs legal aid, has concluded the case is not sufficiently likely to succeed. Sodium valproate is taken to prevent seizures in the brain

Drugmaker says it provided warnings

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Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK