Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could help you file for reimbursement for the expenses of taking care of your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and result in an injury or birth defect or injury, they could be held liable for the harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition could have been caused by an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to detect fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This can cause various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. These injuries can be caused by conditions such as Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves that energize and control an infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can result in permanent 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 analyze your case and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents identify the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence the pregnancy of a mother but they can also happen due to medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect attorney can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This could include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical costs, in addition to aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to identify the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace 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 since they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus through creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or lead to malformed organs. These chemicals are present in various settings, including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits in order 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 - My Page, 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 can be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects the birth defects of a baby could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the environment They could cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals could be dangerous to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, may cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, used in the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and birth defect epidemiologists.