Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects could assist you file for compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, and you should consult a lawyer immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. Doctors can be held accountable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

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

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - an inflammation of the scalp. Both can result in lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a no-cost consultation to look over your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able help parents determine the cause for the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and factors during a mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medications. Many common medications have a significant effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been linked with an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor 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 negligence. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not adequately inform mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses associated with the disability or injury as well as loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital costs medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the cause of the lincolnton birth defect lawyer defect to sue companies who expose mothers to teratogens as they are working or in their home.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to the fact that they interfere with the normal development of a the fetus via chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals are used in many different settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to hold companies accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain huntington Beach birth defect attorney defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed by or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a wide range 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 embryologists and occupational medicine experts.