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 expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file claim for compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should consult a lawyer immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and cause a birth defect or injury and/or death, they may be held accountable for the harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defects lawsuits can assist you in determining the cause of your child's illness. caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could be liable for birth defect law firms birth injuries if they fail to identify or respond adequately to distress in the fetus. This can result in a variety of serious issues, birth defect Law firms such as hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum which is an inflammation of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to analyze your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able to assist parents in determining the root cause of the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and factors during the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur due to medications. Many common medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's responsibility is to take into account the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers that come with their products. 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 the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for current and future medical expenses that result from the disability or injury in addition to loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may file a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities because from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women and drugs that can cause birth deformities. They are trained to discover what caused the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose mothers to teratogens during the time they are at work or in their homes.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens since they interfere with the development of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or cause malformed organs. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause birth defect law firms defects, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may 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.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals are dangerous to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects and health issues. Certain birth defect lawsuits defects are also caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits in behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at their workplace or home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.