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 birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing a claim to recover compensation for the expenses of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor could be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's illness could be due to an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or during delivery.

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

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or delivery. Injuries can result from ailments like Erb's palsy that occurs when the nerves that power and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or ruptured during birth and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. 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

An attorney for birth defects may help parents determine the root of an infant's birth injury. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a significant effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been linked with an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care, they could be liable for medical negligence. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers about the risks of their medication. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, income loss and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

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

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the normal development of a embryo through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are present in a variety locations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects in the heart 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 defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes that their child's birth defect may result from medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from their environment, they can cause serious birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause a variety of birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects can also be associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers can increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects resulting from 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.