Legal Definitions - prenatal injury

Prenatal injury refers to any harm or damage sustained by an unborn child (an embryo or fetus) while it is still developing inside the womb, before birth.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Imagine a pregnant woman who is prescribed a medication by her doctor that is later discovered to be highly toxic to developing fetuses. Despite the doctor's negligence in checking for contraindications during pregnancy, the woman takes the medication. Her child is subsequently born with severe heart defects directly linked to the drug exposure.

  This situation illustrates a prenatal injury because the harm (the heart defects) occurred to the fetus while it was still in the womb, caused by an external factor (the harmful medication) administered during the prenatal period.

• Consider a pregnant woman who works in a laboratory where she is regularly exposed to a specific chemical solvent. Her employer fails to provide adequate protective equipment or inform her of the chemical's known risks to fetal development. As a result, her child is born with significant neurological damage and developmental delays, which medical experts attribute to the mother's chemical exposure during pregnancy.

  The neurological damage and developmental delays are considered prenatal injuries because the harm was inflicted upon the fetus while it was developing in the womb, due to the mother's exposure to a harmful substance in her work environment.

• Suppose a heavily pregnant woman is involved in a serious car accident caused by another driver's reckless behavior. The impact of the collision causes a severe placental abruption, where the placenta prematurely detaches from the uterine wall. This leads to a significant loss of oxygen to the fetus, resulting in irreversible brain damage. The child is born prematurely and later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

  The brain damage and subsequent cerebral palsy are prenatal injuries because the harm occurred to the fetus while it was still in the womb, as a direct consequence of the physical trauma experienced by the mother during the accident.