Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could be devastating for you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing a claim to recover reimbursement for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should seek legal counsel as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defects lawsuits will help you determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical mistake during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could be liable for a birth injury when they fail to recognize or adequately respond to distress of the fetus. This can result in a variety of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused by something occurring during pregnancy, labor, or birth. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents identify the cause of a child's birth injury, or birth defect lawyer defect. Many birth defects result from genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of commonly used medications can have a negative impact on foetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet this standard of care, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers about the dangers associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for future and current medical expenses related to the disability or injury, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

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 businesses who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the cause of 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, because they can affect the development of a healthy embryo through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are present in a variety of settings including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to make companies accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf families who had their children born with severe defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes that the birth defect of their child could be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

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

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium in contaminated coal can cause a variety of birth defects, as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits typically require complex scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.