Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect it could cause a lot of grief for your family and you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects can help you seek compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and it is essential to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. If a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and cause an injury or birth defect the doctor could be held accountable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining the cause of your child's illness. caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be the cause of birth injuries if they fail to recognize or adequately respond to distress in the fetus. This can lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. The causes of injuries include ailments like Erb's palsy that occurs when the nerves which energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or damaged during birth and the caput succedaneum is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a free consultation to analyze your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents identify the root of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are caused by the genetics of a mother's pregnancy, they can also occur as a result of medication. Certain common medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially true in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's responsibility is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could 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 pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to identify the cause of birth defects so they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens, because they can affect the healthy development a the fetus via chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals are found in various settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.

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

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes that the birth defect of their child may be the result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment and then develop birth defects. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause various birth defects, as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the risk of birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a range of birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.