Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can be devastating for you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects could assist you file for compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, and you should consult a lawyer as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor could be held responsible for damages if their actions result in concord birth defect lawyer defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's health condition may be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This can result in a variety of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can include issues like Erb's syndrome which develops when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or damaged during birth and the caput succedaneum is a swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to review your case, and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents identify the root of a child's birth injury, or defect. Many birth defects are caused by genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Many commonly used medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is particularly relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These medications have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

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

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses that result from the disability or injury and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include doctor's, hospital pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well as assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities as a result due to the negligence of corporations who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the root of birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies who 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 referred to as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus through producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or create organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes that the birth defect in their child could result from medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with an DC birth defect attorney injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb pollutants from the environment, they can cause serious birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water, and some of them could be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers that are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the risk of birth defects too.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from many birth defects as a result of an unintentional exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and birth defect epidemiologists.