British-based pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, also known as GSK, reportedly has vowed to pay up to $2.4 billion to settle standing lawsuits over two defective drugs it’s produced, Paxil and Avandia.

In the case of Paxil, such defective drug lawsuits involve birth defects injuries for infants whose mother took the antidepressant drug during pregnancy. For Avandia, they involve a higher death risk for older patients using the diabetes medication, particularly in terms of heart attacks.

According to Bloomberg News, GSK will pay $1 billion of the $2.4 billion it’s pledged to settle more than 800 Paxil defective drug cases. That’s an average payout of about $1.2 million per family. More than 100 additional Paxil defective drugs cases still are pending beyond such settlements, and more lawsuits may be needed.

GSK has not said how much of its $2.4 billion commitment will go to settle Avandia lawsuits.

A New York Times study found that GSK knew of Avandia’s heart attack side effects dangers for 11 years without reporting it to the public or the Food and Drug Administration. GSK also reportedly hid facts about the dangers of Paxil in regard to suicidal impulses it triggered, and during recent litigation it’s been revealed that it chose not to warn expectant mothers or their physicians of dangerous Paxil side effects in newborns if the mother took Paxil during pregnancy.

Among the most serious Paxil side effects are Paxil birth defects such as heart, brain or lung ailments requiring surgery. Many innocent infants are suffering as a result of GSK’s negligence, from persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) in newborn children to heart defects such as malformations and holes in the heart.

While Americans have suffered, British-based GSK has flourished at their expenses, reaping billions of dollars in profits via its defective drugs -- drugs whose defects GSK knew. According to information provided in a Pennsylvania lawsuit, GSK made $11.7 billion in Paxil sales alone in the nine years starting in 1997.

Now GSK is willing to pay out some of those profits as its price to pay for the defective drugs’ harmful side effects.

American families which have had birth defects due to Paxil still can engage a Paxil defective drugs lawyer or personal injury attorney for help. A Paxil lawsuit may be able to recover financial compensation for victims’ losses, including medical bills and pain and suffering.

Last fall, a jury in Philadelphia, PA awarded such a victim’s family $2.5 million in a lawsuit against GSK. It was determined that defective drug Paxil had caused serious heart defects in a boy, 3 years old, who needed several surgeries to address the problem.

Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable in the American legal system for the defective drug injuries caused by their negligence. GSK has begun paying for its accountability, but Britain’s largest drug maker may have just begun to pay, given the likelihood of more Paxil side effects victims and Paxil birth defects lawsuits.