Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could have a devastating effect on you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing an appeal to receive reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions are not in line with this standard and result in a birth defect or injury, they can be held accountable for damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition could be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be the cause of birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or appropriately respond to fetal distress. This can result in a variety of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup, while injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or birth. Injuries can result from ailments like Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of an infant are stretched or torn during birth, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability and ongoing treatment can cost a significant amount of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can provide a free consultation to analyze your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and factors during the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur due to medications. A variety of common medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's responsibility is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to the requirements of this standard of care, they could be held liable for medical negligence. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for birth defect attorneys not adequately informing mothers about the dangers of their medication. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect attorney can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This can include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other costs, 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 resulting from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the cause of birth defects, so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they affect the development of a healthy foetus by causing chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals are found in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various 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 severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause serious birth defect attorneys defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the name for these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers can increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a variety of birth defects caused by the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits usually involve a sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.