Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect, it can be devastating for your family and you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects can help you file for reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your children with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should consult a lawyer immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. Doctors can be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects can help determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may be liable for a birth injury when they fail to diagnose or adequately respond to fetal distress. This can cause a number of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is the caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defect lawsuit defects may offer a free consultation to analyze your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawsuit defect attorney may be able help parents determine the root cause of the birth injury of a child. Many birth defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines including certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to be aware of the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet this standard of care, they could be held liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers about the risks associated with their drugs. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities because of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and medications that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects, so that they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus through making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or lead to malformed organs. These chemicals can be used in a variety of settings, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of firms that were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. Over 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water and a few are harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents, such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the risk of birth defects.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a range of birth defects caused by improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.