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 add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawsuits defect lawyer can help you file a claim to recover reimbursement for the costs of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and it is essential to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor could be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits for birth defects can determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may be liable for an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or adequately respond to fetal distress. This can result in a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy 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 however, injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or during delivery. The causes of injuries include conditions like Erb's Palsy which develops when the nerves that power and control the infant's arms are stretched or damaged during birth as well as caput succedaneum which is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the most appropriate method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able help parents determine the root of a child's birth defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence the pregnancy of a mother, they can also occur because of medications. A variety of common medications can have a profound effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medicines for pregnant women. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their medications. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for future and current medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, in addition to loss of earnings and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover what caused the birth defect to file a lawsuit against companies who expose mothers to teratogens when they are working or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy growth of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function, or can cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of environments, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include the aliphatic hydrocarbons like dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been known to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have gotten significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects a child's birth defects may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals such as benzene, they should seek out a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from their environment and then develop birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

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

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects caused by wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits typically require an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.