Beaver County Family Files Lawsuit Against Maker Of Chantix
ECONOMY (KDKA) -- It's been two years since a Beaver County man fatally shot his wife before taking his own life.
Now the family is filing a lawsuit saying Chantix, a drug used to help people quit smoking, triggered the deadly rage.
In 2009, Sean and Natalie Wain were discovered on the front lawn of their Economy, Beaver County, home.
"It's clear to us that this couple who had no reason to end up in this sort of horror story … died because Sean was affected by this medication in a predictable way," Victor Pribanic, the family's attorney, said.
At the time Sean was taking Chantix, there was no warning label indicating possible side effects that could include hallucinations and behavioral changes. The warnings were added to drug packages after Sean Wain killed his wife and himself.
"If Sean had known to be alert to these kinds of problems or his family had known or his wife had known or his doctor had known so he could have been warned, he likely would have stopped taking the drug or never taken it in the first place," Pribanic said.
The family is asking for monetary damages and a jury trial, but they are not the first ones to file suit against Pfizer, the drug's manufacturer.
"We have not yet reviewed the circumstances of this case, but no causal relationship has been found between the medicine and neuropsychiatric events such as those alleged here," MacKay Jimeson, a Pfizer spokesperson, said in a statement.
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Chantix Official Website
PubMed Health: Chantix
