Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. If a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and result in a birth defect or injury the doctor could be held accountable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect attorney defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could be liable for a birth injury when they fail to identify or respond adequately to fetal distress. This could lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused by something that happens during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. The causes of injuries include conditions like Erb's Palsy, which occurs when the nerves which energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to look over your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth injury. Many birth defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of common medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is especially evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to be aware of the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not properly inform mothers of the risks of their medication. For example, Zofran, birth defect 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 pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, birth defect hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the cause of birth defect lawsuit defects, so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or create organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be used in a variety of settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

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

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect in their child could be due to medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment They could cause serious birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water Some of them are harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

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

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits in behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects as a result of an unintentional exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.