Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly become a burden.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects can help you claim reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your children with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complex, so you should consult a lawyer immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. When a doctor's actions are not in line with this standard and birth defect result in an injury or birth defect and/or death, they may be held liable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defects lawsuits will help you determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor can also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can cause many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is the caput succedaneum, swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will offer a free consultation to analyze your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able to assist parents in determining the reason behind the birth injury of a child. Many birth defects result from genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Certain common medications have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most commonly used. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's duty is to be aware of the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine what caused the birth defect, so they can bring a lawsuit against the companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the development of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or create malformed organs. These chemicals are present in a variety environments, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth problems, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers exposed to them in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies who were responsible for 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 whose children were born with severe defects due to 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, they should consult an DC birth defect attorney injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful when they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

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

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a wide range of birth defects resulting from unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.