Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating effect on your family and you. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects may be able to help you claim reimbursement for the expenses of taking care of your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and it is essential to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. If a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and cause birth defect or injury, they can be held liable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's illness could be due to a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may be liable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to identify or properly respond to distress of the fetus. This can cause a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth defect lawsuit injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up however, injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or during delivery. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and birth defect lawsuits legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is called caput succedaneum. It's an inflammation of the scalp. Both of these could result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may offer a free consultation to look over your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth defect. While many birth defect attorney defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence a mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused because of medications. Certain common medications have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines including certain antibiotics, and many more. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet the requirements of this standard of care, they could be held accountable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medications. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses related to the disability or injury and also loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other costs, as well assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf 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 determine the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to the fact that they influence the healthy development of a the fetus via chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different situations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include the aliphatic hydrocarbons like dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, birth defect lawsuits to harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, which are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects too.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on the name of children who suffered from many birth defects due to wrongful toxic or chemical exposure at their workplace or home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.