Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help you claim compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, which is why you should seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail to diagnose or appropriately respond to distress of the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth defect law firms, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both of these could cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can provide a free consultation to look over your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able help parents determine the root of the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are due to the genetics of the pregnancy of a mother however, they can also be caused because of medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant impact on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines including certain antibiotics, lawsuit and many more. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostois.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their medication. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, as well as loss of income and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to find out the root of the birth defect to file a lawsuit against companies which expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or at their homes.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus through making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or create organs that are malformed. These chemicals are found in a variety of situations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of firms that were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family is concerned that the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are called Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects as well.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on the name of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and lawsuit expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.