Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could help you claim compensation for the cost of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complex and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and result in birth defect or injury, they can be held liable for the harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's illness could have been caused by a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize fetal distress and don't respond appropriately. This can cause a number of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is the caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can offer a free consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the reason for the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and factors during the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medication. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

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

An attorney who specializes in birth defects can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit for parents of children with congenital disabilities because from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the cause of birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens because they interfere with the normal development of a embryo through chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in a variety of environments, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

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

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

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child may be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the chances of having birth defects.

LK's experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed many lawsuits on the name of children who suffered from many birth defects due to accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts and embryologists.