Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can be devastating for you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly become a burden.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and cause birth defect or injury, they can be held liable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may be liable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize or appropriately respond to fetal distress. This could lead to various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injuries can include ailments like Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves that power and control an infant's arms are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents determine the reason for the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defect law firms defects are the result of genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur due to medications. Certain common medications have a profound effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, as well as loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the root of birth defects, so that they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus through producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or create organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be found in many different settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals or chemical substances, they should speak with an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb pollutants from the environment They could cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. Over 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water Some of them can be harmful when they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium in coal that has been contaminated can trigger numerous birth defects and health issues. Certain birth defects can also be 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 semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase the chances of having birth defects.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a myriad of birth defects resulting from unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.