Birth defects can be caused by taking medication while you're pregnant. If the drug's manufacturer or your healthcare provider failed to warn you about the possible harm a prescription drug could do to your child, you may be able to collect compensation for your damages and losses, as long as you can prove that the medication caused the birth defects. Here's what you need to know about litigating this type of case.

Elements of the Birth Defect Claim

To prevail in this type of claim, you must prove the following to the court's satisfaction:

• The drug was prescribed by a health care provider or pharmacist
• You used the medication as it was prescribed
• You used it while you were pregnant
• The medication could cause the birth defect
• The odds of the defect being caused by other conditions is very low
• There is a strong connection between the drug and the development of the birth defect

The biggest challenge you'll have in a case like this is showing a clear connection between the drug and the birth defect, because birth defects can be caused by any number of things, including environmental factors (e.g. pollution), consumption of other substances (e.g. tuna that contains mercury), or heredity.

You can boost the strength of your case with testimony from experts who can either identify the prescription drug as the cause of the defect or eliminate other possible contributing factors. For example, you can have a geneticist testify you don't have the genes required to cause your child's birth defect. Another tactic is to locate cases where other women have taken the drug, and their babies also developed similar birth defects.

Other Case Challenges

Proving the drug was the cause of the defect is only part of the challenge. You'll also need to show wrongdoing on the part of the manufacturer or healthcare provider. Drug companies and medical professionals have a duty to warn the public about the possible side effects associated with medications. If you weren't informed about the possibility your child could be injured by the drug, you could make a good case that you didn't have all the information necessary to make an informed decision about whether to take the drug or not.

However, it can be challenging proving this in some cases. If your case is the first time a birth defect was reported in connection to the medication, it may be hard to prove the company knew birth defects were a possible side effect, which may affect your ability to get compensated for the incident. Likewise, if your healthcare provider wasn't notified by the manufacturer about the possibility of birth defects or couldn't have found out about the issue in any other way (e.g. medical studies), then it may be difficult to attach liability to him or her.

This is why it's important to work with a birth injury attorney when litigating a case like this. The lawyer can help you overcome these challenges to obtain the outcome you want. For more information about this issue, contact a birth injury attorney or check out websites like http://www.snyderwenner.com.