Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file a claim to recover compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

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

A doctor may also be responsible for an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, clarendon hills birth defect law firm, or labor. Injuries can include conditions such as Erb's palsy that occurs when the nerves which energize and Birth Defect Lawsuit control the infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both can result in lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a no-cost consultation to analyze your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may help parents determine the root cause of the birth injury of a child. Many birth defects are caused by birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These medications have been linked to an increase in chance of limb deformities, brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

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

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit for families of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women and drugs that can cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the reason for Birth defect Lawsuit defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens since they influence the healthy development of a the fetus via chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are found in many different settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies who were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a baby could be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb pollutants from the environment and then develop birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from various birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve complex scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.