Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth deformity it can cause a lot of grief for you and your entire family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could help you file for compensation for the costs of caring for your children with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and it is essential to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. If the actions of a doctor do not meet the standards and result in birth defects or injuries, they can be held liable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be accountable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to recognize or adequately respond to fetal distress. This can cause a number of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. The causes of injuries include conditions like Erb's Palsy which develops when the nerves which energize and control an infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents determine the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused as a result of medication. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor is to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet the standards of care required, they could be held liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers about the risks associated with their products. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families get reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover the cause of the birth defect in order to file a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens while they work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens since they interfere with the development of the fetus through creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or lead to organs that are malformed. These chemicals are present in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects due to the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment They could cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from contaminated coal can cause a variety of birth defects and birth defect attorneys health problems. Certain birth defects can also be caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase the risk of developing birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defect law firm defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or in their homes. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.