Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can have a devastating effect on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing an appeal to receive compensation for the expenses of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, which is why you should seek legal counsel immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine whether your child's illness could be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail diagnose fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This can cause a number of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered by something occurring during pregnancy, labor, or during delivery. The causes of injuries include ailments like Erb's palsy that occurs when the nerves which energize and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or damaged during birth and the caput succedaneum is a swelling of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong 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 review your situation and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury, or defect. Many birth defects are caused by genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of common medications can have a significant impact on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been linked with an increased risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's job is to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not meet this standard of care they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for not adequately inform mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine what caused the birth defect, so they can bring a lawsuit against the companies which expose mothers to teratogens while they work or at their homes.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens as they interfere with the development of the fetus by making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or create malformed organs. These chemicals are found in a variety of locations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause birth problems, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defect in their child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment, they can cause serious birth defect attorneys defects. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, birth defect lawyer air and water. Certain of these chemicals could be dangerous to pregnant women.

For example, birth defect lawyer arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects are caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers also increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.