Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth deformity, it can cause a lot of grief for your family and you. Medical bills, Magee birth defect attorney therapy costs and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help to file a claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your children with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated, so it is important to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. If the actions of a doctor are in violation of this standard and result in a birth defect lawsuit defect or injury and/or death, they may be held accountable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects will help you determine if your child's illness could be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may be held accountable for del mar birth defect Attorney (vimeo.com) injuries if they fail diagnose fetal distress or fail to respond appropriately. This can cause a number of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these conditions can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation to look over your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may help parents determine the root of an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are due to genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen due to medications. Many common medications have a significant effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and carson birth defect attorney chemotherapy medications are among the most commonly used. These medications have been linked to an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's duty is to take into account 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 malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers about the risks 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 congenital defects that are major in first trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from 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 reason for the birth defect, so they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose mothers to teratogens while they work or at their homes.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects are the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or create organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are used in a variety of environments, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects, such as 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 exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes the birth defect in their child could result from medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are known as Teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from contaminated coal can cause a variety of birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects caused by wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve an extensive scientific analysis as well as experts, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.