Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, so you should seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor could be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits involving birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition could be due to a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be accountable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to identify or adequately respond to distress in the fetus. This can lead to a range of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy or the birth. These injuries can be caused by issues like Erb's syndrome, which occurs when the nerves that power and control the arms of an infant are stretched or damaged during santa barbara birth defect lawyer and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, birth defect attorney DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a free consultation to analyze your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may help parents determine the root of a child's birth defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy, they can also occur because of medications. A number of commonly used medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers of the dangers that come with their medications. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit 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. They are trained to determine the cause of birth defects so that they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens since they affect the development of a healthy embryo through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be used in a variety of settings, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects the birth defect law firm defects of a baby could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water, and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause numerous birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known for birth defect attorney their ability to increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed many lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from many birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.