Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating effect on your family as well as you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file a claim to recover compensation for the expenses of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complex, so you should consult with a legal professional immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. If a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and result in birth defects or injuries, they can be held liable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition could be due to an error made by the medical professional during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be accountable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail in diagnosing or appropriately respond to distress of the fetus. This can lead to a range of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The difference 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 an event that occurs during pregnancy, labor, or during delivery. Injuries can include conditions such as Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves that power and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to look over your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the cause for the birth injury of a child. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been linked to an increase in chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers about the risks that come with their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in first trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

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

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they interfere with the normal development of a the fetus via chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are found in many different settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who have children who were born with serious defects as a result of the 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 suspects that the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence or birth defect attorney prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals are dangerous to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that has been contaminated can trigger various birth defects, as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are also caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are well-known to increase the risk of developing birth defects as well.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a myriad of birth defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.