Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity it can be devastating for you and your entire family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects may be able to help to file a claim for compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complex, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor can be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defects lawsuits can assist you in determining if your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This can cause a number serious problems including 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 circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is called caput succedaneum. It's an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in lifelong 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 look over your case and determine the most appropriate method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able to help parents determine the reason behind a child's birth defect. Many birth defects are caused by burlington birth defect attorney defects or genetics. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications have a significant effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most commonly used. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

It is the duty of a doctor to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers of the risks associated with their products. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from 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 find out what caused the berkley birth defect attorney defect in order to sue companies which expose mothers to teratogens when they work or at their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause Plymouth birth defect lawsuit defects. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are present in a variety of settings including the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

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

Environmental Exposure

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

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are known as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and some are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects can also be linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known to 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 skilled birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a myriad of birth defects as a result of unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.