Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complex and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's condition could have been caused by an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be the cause of an injury to the fetus if they fail in diagnosing or respond adequately to distress in the fetus. This can lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injuries can result from ailments like Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves that energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or ruptured during birth and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these conditions can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can provide 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 help parents identify the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defect lawsuits defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is especially true in the first three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers that come with their drugs. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, birth defect lawsuits income loss and quality of life. This could include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women and drugs that can cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the root of birth defects so they can file a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens, because they can affect the development of a healthy the fetus via chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals are found in a variety of settings including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families who had children born with severe birth defects due to the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are 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 chemical or chemical substances, they should speak with an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb pollutants from the environment They could cause serious birth defects. These substances are known as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water Some of them are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, could cause birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents like trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects due to wrongful toxic or chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.