A birth defect is an abnormality in a newborn infant’s physiology or structure that occurs while the embryo or fetus is developing. These defects can originate during the first three months of pregnancy, when organs are just beginning to form, or during the last six months, when organs and tissues continue to develop. Most birth defects are thought to be caused by a variety of factors, including heredity, environmental toxins, and/or medications taken during pregnancy. When medical negligence or a teratogenic (defect-causing) medication or environmental toxin is found to have caused an infant’s birth defect, the physician, drug manufacturer, or individual or entity responsible for the mother’s exposure to teratogenic substances may be held liable, under certain circumstances, for the damages suffered by the child as a result.
Birth injury and birth-defect attorney Jeffrey Killino has significant experience with birth-injury and birth-defect cases, including those arising out of birth defects or injuries caused by medical negligence, environmental toxins, or drugs that are unreasonably dangerous for use during pregnancy. If your child suffers from a birth defect of any kind and you suspect that the defect resulted from medical malpractice or your use of or exposure to a drug or toxic substance during your pregnancy, you may be entitled to compensation through legal action. Contact birth-injury and birth-defect lawyer Jeffrey Killino at 877-875-2927 for a free evaluation of your case and additional information about your legal rights and options.
Legal Liability for Children’s Preventable Birth Defects
Though many birth defects cannot be prevented, others may be avoided with proper medical care during pregnancy and the avoidance of certain medications and toxic environmental substances. These types of birth defects may lead to the liability of individuals and/or entities found to have caused them.
Birth Defects Caused by Medical Negligence
While most birth defects are caused by something other than medical negligence during women’s pregnancies, some may result from less than adequate medical care. A physician who neglects to prescribe folic-acid supplementation for a pregnant patient, for example, may be found liable in a medical-malpractice action for a child’s neural-tube birth defect determined to have been caused by the mother’s folic-acid deficiency.
A physician’s negligent prescription of a teratogenic medication during a woman’s pregnancy may also lead to the physician’s liability for birth defects ruled to have been caused by the mother’s use of the teratogenic medication. A doctor’s prescription of Retin-A to treat a woman’s acne during the woman’s pregnancy, for example, may result in the doctor’s liability for her child’s congenital heart defect that is found to have been caused by her use of Retin-A during pregnancy. A physician may be found liable for a child’s oro-cleft birth defect (cleft lip or cleft palate) determined to have been caused by the physician’s negligent prescription of the anti-seizure and migraine-headache drug Topamax during the mother’s pregnancy. Physicians may also be held liable for children’s neural-tube defects caused by the negligent prescription of anti-depressants Paxil, Zoloft, Wellbutrin, or Lexapro or anti-seizure medications Depakote, Topamax, or Valproate.
Birth Defects Caused by Teratogenic Medications
In many cases, teratogenic medications are prescribed to pregnant women through no fault of the prescribing physicians. This may occur, for example, when drug manufacturers market teratogenic drugs or medications to physicians for use during their patients’ pregnancies and the teratogenic potential of the drugs is not reasonably discoverable by the physician or the patient. In such a case, the drug manufacturer may be held liable in a products-liability action for a child’s birth defect determined to have been caused by the mother’s use of the drug during pregnancy. The drug manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, for instance, is known to have marketed the drug Zofran to physicians for relief of pregnant women’s morning sickness, despite the absence of FDA approval of the drug for this use, and despite the existence of studies indicating a link between the use of Zofran during pregnancy and certain types of birth defects, such as cleft lips, cleft palates, and congenital heart defects. When a drug manufacturer markets a drug in this manner, the drug manufacturer may be found liable for birth defects found to have been caused by pregnant women’s use of the medications. Drug manufacturers may also be found liable for birth defects caused by the manufacturers’ failure to provide adequate warnings regarding medications’ known or knowable teratogenic effects.
Birth Defects Caused by Environmental Toxins
Birth defects have also been found to result from pregnant women’s exposure to certain environmental toxins. When a pregnant woman has been exposed to one of these substances due to another’s negligence or other actionable conduct, the responsible party or parties may be found legally responsible for her child’s birth defect determined to have been caused by her exposure to the substance during pregnancy. Congenital heart defects, for example, have been linked to pregnant women’s exposure to certain industrial pollutants, including benzene, butadiene, carbon disulphide, chloroform, ethylene oxide, hexachlorobenzene, tetrachloroethane, methanol, sulphur dioxide, toluene, lead, mercury, and cadmium. Companies that manufacture these substances may be found liable in products-liability actions for children’s congenital heart defects determined to have been caused by the mothers’ exposure to the substances during pregnancy. Such exposure may occur, for example, through use of toxic substances in a workplace.
Cleft-lip and cleft-palate defects have also been found to result from pregnant women’s exposure to environmental toxins. Pesticides, in particular, have been linked to this type of birth defect. Manufacturers of these substances as well as individuals and entities that negligently expose pregnant women to the substances may be held liable for birth defects ruled to have been caused by such exposure. This may occur, for example, when individuals or entities engaged in agriculture use pesticides in close proximity to private residences.
Neural-tube defects, including spina bifida and anencephaly, have also been linked to pregnant women’s exposure to pesticides such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers. If a child’s neural-tube birth defect is found to have been caused by the mother’s exposure to pesticides during pregnancy, the pesticide manufacturer as well as any individuals or entities that negligently exposed the woman to the pesticides may be held liable for the child’s birth defect.
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Many preventable birth defects are caused by medical negligence or the use of or exposure to teratogenic substances during pregnancy. Birth-injury and birth-defect attorney Jeffrey Killino has achieved national recognition for his diligence and skill in fighting for the rights of children who have been injured by others’ negligence or by defective and dangerous products. If your child has sustained a birth defect due to someone’s negligence or a defective and dangerous substance, attorney Killino can help you obtain justice from those responsible for your child’s injury. Contact attorney Killino at 877-875-2927 for compassionate yet aggressive representation.
