Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could have a devastating effect on your family and you. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could help you claim compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, and you should consult a lawyer immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and result in birth defects or injuries the doctor could be held accountable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining whether your child's condition was caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.

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

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum which is an inflammation of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to review your case and determine the most appropriate course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and factors during the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur due to medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and vimeo more. These drugs have been linked with an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to be aware of the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers about the risks associated with their medicines. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses that result from the injury or disability, and Vimeo also loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the reason for birth defects so that they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to the fact that they interfere with the normal development of a the fetus via chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are found in a variety of settings including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac aztec birth defect attorney defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed 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 for families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some highland heights birth defect law firm defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family believes that the birth defect of their child may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts and embryologists.