Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held accountable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition may be due to a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can lead to a range of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused by something occurring during labor, pregnancy or birth. These injuries can be caused by issues like Erb's syndrome that occurs when the nerves that energize and control the infant's arms are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide 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 marlborough birth defect lawsuit defect lawyer may be able to assist parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy, they can also occur due to medications. Certain common medications have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines including certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's responsibility is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. When doctors fail to meet the standards of care required, they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers associated with their products. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit for families of children who have congenital disabilities because from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover what caused the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies which expose mothers to teratogens when they are at work or in their home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy growth of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or create organs to be malformed. These chemicals are present in diverse settings like semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements on behalf families whose children were born with severe defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family is concerned that the birth defect in their child could result from medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should talk to an DC rayne birth defect lawyer injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women consume or absorb pollutants from the environment, they can cause serious birth defects. These substances are known as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be dangerous to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated can cause various birth defects, as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are utilized in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are well-known to increase the risk of birth defects.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a wide range of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.