Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file a claim to recover compensation for the expenses of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, and you should seek legal counsel whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor could be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining whether your child's condition may have been caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail to diagnose or appropriately respond to fetal distress. This could lead to a variety of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events 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 type of injury is the caput succedaneum, a swelling on the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will provide a no-cost consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able to assist parents in determining the reason behind the birth injury of a child. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defect lawsuit defects. Many common medications have a significant impact on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been linked to an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to take into account the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defect attorneys defects. They are trained to find out the reason for the birth defect, so they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus by making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or lead to malformed organs. These chemicals are used in a variety of locations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to make companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes that the birth defect of their child could result from medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water Some of them can be harmful when they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase the chance of having birth defects as well.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.