Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could be devastating for your family and you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file a claim to recover compensation for the expenses of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. If a doctor's actions fall below this standard and cause birth defect or injury, they can be held liable for birth defect law firm the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining whether your child's condition could be the result of an error made by the medical professional during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or do not respond appropriately. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can result from issues like Erb's syndrome, which occurs when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of a newborn 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, which can result in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to review your situation and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the root cause of the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused as a result of medication. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most commonly used. These medications have been linked with an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medicines for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to the requirements of this standard of care, they could be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers of the dangers associated with their medicines. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families receive compensation for future and current medical expenses that result from the disability or injury and also loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women and drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects so that they can file a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens as they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus through producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or cause malformed organs. These chemicals can be found in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family is concerned that the birth Defect lawsuit defect of their child may be due to medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

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

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, may cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Certain carthage birth defect attorney defects are also linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are known to increase the chance of having birth defects as well.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a myriad of birth defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.