Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity this can have a devastating effect on your family and you. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file a claim to recover compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, which is why you should seek legal counsel whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. Doctors can be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition may be the result of an error made by a doctor during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor can also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or fail to respond appropriately. This can result in a variety of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a no-cost consultation to review your case, and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents identify the root of the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medications. Many common medications can have a negative impact on foetuses. This is particularly relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These medications have been linked to an increased risk of deformities in the limbs and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for birth defect attorneys not properly informing mothers about the risks of their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This could include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit for families of children who have congenital disabilities as a result due to the negligence of corporations who expose pregnant women to chemicals and medications that cause birth deformities. They are trained to discover the root of the birth defect to file a lawsuit against companies which expose mothers to teratogens while they are working or in their homes.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they affect the healthy development a the fetus via chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf families whose children were born with severe defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause various birth defects and health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the risk of developing birth defects as well.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, birth defect attorneys geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.