Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly become a burden.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects can help you file for compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should consult a lawyer immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. When a doctor's actions fall below this standard and cause birth defects or injuries and/or death, they may be held liable for the harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine if your child's health condition may be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor can also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize fetal distress and fail to respond appropriately. This can lead to a range of serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy or birth. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is caput succedaneum - an inflammation of the scalp. Both of them can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to examine your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may help parents determine the cause for the birth injury of a child. While many birth defect law firm defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during the pregnancy of a mother but they can also happen due to medications. A variety of commonly used medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to be aware of 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 medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their products. 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 a pregnancy.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital fees medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs and other expenses along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the reason for the birth defects so that they can bring a suit 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 the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens as they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs that are malformed. These chemicals are found in a variety of environments, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), defects trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies that were involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defect lawsuits defects are caused by an unintended medical error as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

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

For instance, arsenic from drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects and health problems. Industrial solvents like trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, which are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects too.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a wide range of birth defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.