Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can be devastating for you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills 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 caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, and you should seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. Doctors can be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's illness could have been caused by an error in medical care during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be responsible for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This can cause a number of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is called caput succedaneum. It's swelling of the scalp. Both of them can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a no-cost consultation to look over your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury, or defect. Many birth defects result from genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications have a significant effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses related to the disability or injury, and also loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to identify the reason for the kennesaw birth defect lawsuit defect in order to sue companies which expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or at their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the growth of the fetus making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or create malformed organs. These chemicals are found in a variety of settings, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause kalamazoo Birth defect lawyer defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth problems, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children born with severe defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a baby could be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals may be dangerous to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from coal that has been contaminated can trigger various birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase a woman's chance of having birth defects too.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a range of birth defects due to improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.