Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing claim for compensation for the cost of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, and you should seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor could be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail identify fetal distress, or don't respond appropriately. This can lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered due to something happening during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able to help parents determine the root of a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medications. Certain common medications have a profound effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs, certain antibiotics, and many more. These medications have been linked to a higher risk of limb deformities and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care they could be held accountable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers associated with their medications. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help family members receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may sue families of children who have congenital disabilities because from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals and medications that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover what caused the birth defect in order to sue companies who expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or in their homes.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens as they interfere with the growth of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or lead to malformed organs. These chemicals can be used in a variety of environments, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the 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 can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child could be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical such as benzene, they should seek out an DC new rochelle birth defect lawyer injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the environment, they can cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the name for these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects can also be caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are utilized in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are well-known to increase the chance of having birth defects as well.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals and Birth Defect toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.