Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it can be devastating for your family and you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect law firm 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 a bit nebulous and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

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 are not in line with this standard and result in birth defects or injuries and/or death, they may be held responsible for damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine whether your child's illness could be the result of a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or fail to respond appropriately. This can result in a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. These injuries can be caused by conditions like Erb's Palsy that occurs when the nerves that energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or ruptured during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will offer a free consultation in order to review your case, and atlanta birth defect lawsuit determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able help parents determine the root of a child's birth injury. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is particularly true in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their drugs. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital costs, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could file a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities as a result from the negligence of companies exposing pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially trained to identify what caused the birth defect in order to sue companies who expose mothers to teratogens while they are at work or in their home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to the fact that they affect the healthy development a fetus through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals are used in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these nebraska birth defect attorney defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes that their child's birth defect may result from medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause a variety of birth defects as well as other health problems. 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 that are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the risk of developing birth defects.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a range of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically require sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.