May 26, 2015
Children are born with birth defects for a number of reasons. Many times, the defect is beyond anyone’s control. Other times, it could have been prevented. If you can prove that a medical practitioner or pharmaceutical company provided your child with inadequate care during pregnancy, they may be at fault for your baby’s birth defect. Learn whether you have a case and how to prove it, here:
Birth Injury vs. Birth Defect
First, it is important to distinguish the difference between a birth injury and a birth defect, as the type of evidence needed for either case differs. A birth injury occurs when a baby is injured due to complications during labor or delivery. This may mean anything from lack of oxygen resulting in brain damage to a head injury. A birth defect is caused by something that happens to a mother during or before pregnancy. Factors that cause birth defects include heredity, environment, drug use (prescribed and illegal), alcohol consumption and more. It is estimated that 0.5 percent of babies experience birth injuries and 7 percent of babies are born with birth defects.
Types of Birth Defect Cases
You may have a case against an obstetrician, physician or nurse involved in your child’s delivery in either of the following instances:
1. Your child was born with a birth defect as a result of a medical practitioner:
– Failing to recognize pregnancy disorders such as hypertension
– Failing to perform a necessary cesarean section
– Using medical devices improperly during delivery
– Incorrectly assessing a baby’s health while developing in the womb
2. Your child was born with a birth defect caused by taking a prescription drug while pregnant, under the supervision of a medical practitioner. In this case you may also have a claim against the pharmacist who instructed your use of the drug or the manufacturing company who produced it.
Proving Fault in a Birth Defect Case
Cases involving birth defects often end up being medical malpractice cases. To recover damages in a such a case, you must be able to show that a medical practitioner or pharmaceutical company breached the legal duty of care they owed you or your child. This means the defendant failed to provide the accepted standard of care for your child’s situation, which is determined by how a competent person in the same field of work would have acted under the same circumstances. Additionally, it must be apparent that your baby’s birth defect resulted directly from the defendant’s actions. To learn more about medical malpractice cases, see here. (link: https://klgflorida.com/attorney-can-help-medical-malpractice/)
How an Attorney Can Help
Nothing can diminish the fear and heartbreak that comes when your baby is born with a birth defect that could have been prevented, but your child does deserve justice. To successfully recover damages for you baby’s birth defect, an attorney will conduct extensive research and consult expert witnesses to determine how the defendant should have responded to your child’s situation and where they went wrong.
When fighting for your child’s rights, you want an attorney who is experienced in medical malpractice cases and will fight mercilessly to recover the damages your family deserves. At the Khonsari Law Group, that is exactly what our attorneys will do. Call today for a free consultation.