On this page, we will explain who might be eligible to file a toxic baby autism lawsuit. We will explain what qualifying criteria our firm is using to screen baby food autism cases and we will also discuss what the potential settlement value of these cases might be.
About the Baby Food Lawsuits
The lawsuits alleging that toxic heavy metals in popular baby food products caused children to develop autism, originated out of an investigation report from a Congressional Subcommittee entitled Baby Foods are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury (the “Congressional Report”). The Congressional Report publicly revealed that many of the most popular brands of baby food products were tested and found to contain very high levels of various heavy metals known to be toxic to humans.
The concentrations of metals discovered in baby food far exceeded the permissible levels established for other items like bottled water. To illustrate, the FDA’s approved maximum level for lead in bottled water is 5 parts per billion (ppb). Shockingly, Beech-Nut baby foods registered lead levels as high as 886 ppb, and Hain Celestial (Nature’s Best) brands contained 641 ppb, according to the Congressional Report. Leading brands such as Gerber, Campbell Plum, and Walmart showed lead levels ranging from 25-40 ppb, still 5-10 times above the established safe limit.
The Congressional Report’s most alarming revelation was that food manufacturers were fully aware of these elevated levels of toxic metals in their products. Internal testing conducted by several manufacturers confirmed dangerous levels of lead and other metals, yet these products were still brought to market. Hain Celestial even acknowledged the heavy metal contamination in its baby food products during a meeting with the FDA.
The findings in the Congressional Report have led to a growing tide of product liability lawsuits against manufacturers of baby food products. These lawsuits allege that children who consumed these products developed autism and other neurological disorders from exposure to the heavy metals in the products. They also allege that the manufacturers knew about this hazard but failed to warn consumers.
Who is Eligible to File a Baby Food Autism Lawsuit?
In order to file toxic baby food autism lawsuit and participate in any future global settlement, prospective plaintiffs must meet certain basic criteria. Our firm’s current baby food autism lawsuit eligibility requirements are as follows:
Child Regularly Consumer Contaminated Food Products: All potential plaintiffs must be able to show that their child regularly consumed some of the contaminated baby food products found to contain heavy metals in high levels. The toxic baby foods include all rice-based products from the following manufacturers/brands:
Beech-Nut
Gerber
Earth’s Best Organic
Nurture (Happy Family Organics and HappyBABY)
Sprout Organic Food
Parent’s Choice
Diagnosed With Autism: Prospective plaintiffs must also be able to show that their child was diagnosed with autism (or another neurologic disorder) after consuming the contaminated baby food products.
No Autism Risk Factors: In addition to the criteria listed above, potential plaintiffs should also be able to show that their child (or the parents themselves) did not have significant known risk factors for autism. The primary risk factor being a history of autism in their family.
Estimated Settlement Value of Toxic Baby Food Cases
Estimating the potential settlement value of toxic baby food cases is particular premature because these cases are very much in their infancy. The scientific evidence linking heavy metals in baby food products to autism is very new and none of it has ever been tested in court before. In fact, there is no guarantee that any of this evidence will even be admissible in court.
Despite all these limitations, we can still offer an educated guess at the potential settlement value of these cases. However, determining settlement amounts for a baby food autism lawsuit poses a unique challenge. The most dependable approach to estimating settlement value typically involves examining settlements from previous cases with similar injuries and circumstances.
In the case of a toxic baby food lawsuit, the absence of prior comparable cases complicates this process. Historically, there have been no successful tort lawsuits where autism was the primary injury. Previous attempts to establish a connection between negligence and autism have generally been unsuccessful.
In the absence of previous settlements or verdicts addressing compensation for autism, our baby food lawyers can examine results in past cases with injuries similar to autism. Birth injury malpractice cases involving permanent neurologic injuries emerge as the most relevant comparisons. Neurologic birth injuries share similarities with autism in that they result in: permanent limitations in a child’s mental functioning and a lifetime of economic losses in the form of future medical care and loss of earnings.
Birth injury cases linked to permanent neurologic injuries are associated with notably high settlement values. Among personal injury malpractice cases, those involving cerebral palsy have the highest average settlement value. However, cerebral palsy may not be an ideal comparison to autism as it often entails severe physical disabilities and requires more extensive medical care. The most relevant lawsuits for comparison are those related to neurologic birth injuries that lead to mental, rather than physical, impairment.
Based on these comparable cases, our lawyers expect that the toxic baby food cases involving autism could have a potential settlement value of $300,000 to $750,000. Keep in mind that this is the settlement value of these cases in a mass tort context. This is significantly lower than the possible value of these cases if they went to trial.
Contact Us About a Toxic Baby Food Lawsuit
If you gave your child a contaminated baby food product and they have subsequently been diagnosed with neurologic disorders such as autism or learning disabilities, call our product liability lawyers today at 888-322-3010 or contact us online for a free consultation. We are currently seeking new toxic baby food cases from individuals who meet these criteria.