Michael Boylan Litigation solicitor Ciara McPhillips joined activist and mother Karen Keely on Virgin Media's Ireland AM to discuss the epilepsy drug Epilim (sodium valproate) and the devastating, lifelong consequences it has had for more than 1,000 Irish children since the 1970s.
Karen Keely took Epilim for years to manage her epilepsy, only to discover later that the drug had been linked to serious birth defects and developmental difficulties — after all three of her children were affected. Speaking on the programme, she shared the human reality behind a medical scandal that, for many families, went unacknowledged for decades.
Sodium valproate is an effective epilepsy medication, but taking it during pregnancy can cause physical malformations, developmental delay and autism in a significant proportion of children exposed in the womb. Campaigners say families were not adequately warned of these risks for many years.
The recent Epilim Inquiry aims to establish why information about the drug's dangers was withheld from patients, and to hold those responsible to account. For the families involved, it is a long-awaited step towards acknowledgement and redress.
Michael Boylan Litigation acts for a number of families affected by sodium valproate, and Ciara McPhillips has spoken publicly — in the courts, in the media and before the Inquiry — about the need for a fair and timely route to redress for those harmed.
