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Prescription malpractice caused birth defects. Can we file a medical negligence claim?
I was prescribed Depakote and Clonazepam by a local county mental health while pregnant with my son. I expressed to the doctor that prescribed the medication my concern about the drugs effect on pregnant women and the fetus. He told me not to worry about it, that the likelihood of birth defects was so low as to be almost non-existent.
We will be caring for him for the rest of our lives and I feel the doctors lack of judgment in this case was the ultimate cause for my sons birth defects and brain damage.
Can we file a claim for medical negligence due to his poor decision in prescribing me this medication? We are facing significant financial hardship now, and will be for the rest of our lives.
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Answers
The incidence rate of birth defect associated with these two drugs varies from 1 to 3 percent. Even 1 percent is probably too high to risk prescribing the drug to a pregnant woman. Depending on how far along you were in the pregnancy when the drug was prescribed, the incidence of birth defect may be lower.
Women who take the drug during the first trimester are at a higher likelihood of birth defects. Your doctor may may be liable for the damages if the decision was one that is not standard medical practice.
You will need to discuss the case with a medical malpractice lawyer to find out if the doctors actions in prescribing the drug constitutes medical negligence. Most medical malpractice lawyers have a neutral, third party medical doctor on staff or readily available to investigate your case and advise you regarding the judgment of the prescribing doctor in his decision.
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Posted by Staff Writer on 29 Jan 2010