Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth deformity it can have a devastating effect on your family and you. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects can help to file a claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your children with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should seek legal counsel immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor can be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's health condition may be due to an error made by a doctor birth defect lawyers during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize fetal distress and are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can cause a number of serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. These injuries can be caused by conditions such as Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of an infant are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defect lawsuit defects can offer a free consultation in order to examine your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents determine the cause of the birth injury or defect. Many birth defects result from genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of commonly used medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is particularly true in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These medications have been linked with an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to consider these risks when prescribing medicines for pregnant women. If doctors fail to meet the requirements of this standard of care, they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharma companies can also be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers of the risks that come with their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for future and current medical expenses related to the injury or disability, in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women 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 case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens due to the fact that they affect the development of a healthy foetus by causing chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different environments, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that can 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 suit against a number of companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe birth defects because 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 believes the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects too.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects caused by the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts and embryologists.