Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can be devastating for you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defect lawsuits defects could assist you seek compensation to cover the costs of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor can be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's condition could be due to an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be the cause of an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This can result in many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can be caused by 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 inflammation of the scalp. Both of these conditions can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can offer a free consultation to analyze 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 root of the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are caused by the genetics of a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen due to medications. A number of commonly used medications can have a negative impact on foetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These medications have been linked to an increase in risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect attorney can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This can include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women to 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 either at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects include the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens because they affect the healthy development a embryo through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals are used in a variety of environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include the aliphatic hydrocarbons like trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed while they were in 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 these birth defects lawyers have won substantial settlements for families that had children born with severe defects resulting from the toxic chemical exposures on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals or chemical substances, they should speak with a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment they could develop serious birth defects. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, may cause birth defects as well as 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 also increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defects resulting from unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts and embryologists.