Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects may be able to help you file for reimbursement for the expenses of caring for Birth defect lawsuits your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and it is essential to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. When a doctor's actions are not in line with this standard and cause birth defect or injury or injury, they could be held responsible for harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine whether your child's condition may have been caused by an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be responsible for an injury to the fetus if they fail to recognize or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup however, injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or during delivery. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's swelling of the scalp. Both of these conditions can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to analyze your situation and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and factors during the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medication. Many common medications have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's job is to be aware of the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. When doctors fail to meet the standards of care required, they could be liable for medical negligence. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers of the risks of their medication. For birth defect lawsuits 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.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for current and future medical expenses related to the disability or injury, and also loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other costs, along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may file a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities because of the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women and drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to identify the root of the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens since they affect the healthy development a fetus through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in a variety of locations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes that their child's birth defect may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are present in our air, food and water and a few could be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal, for example, can cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defect lawyers defects are related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed many lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic or chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.