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 add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect law firms defect lawyer could help you file claim for compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and it is essential to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. Doctors can be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits for birth defects will help you determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or fail to respond appropriately. This can result in a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can provide a no-cost consultation to look over your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents identify the root of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence the pregnancy of a mother but they can also happen as a result of medication. A variety of commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is particularly true in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to take into consideration the potential risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers of the risks associated with their drugs. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This could include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical expenses, as well assistive devices and birth defect lawyers therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the root of the birth defect in order to bring a lawsuit against companies who expose mothers to teratogens while they work or at their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to the fact that they affect the healthy development a foetus by causing chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are used in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are the aliphatic hydrocarbons like dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families that had children born with severe defects resulting from the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and some are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause a variety of birth defects and health problems. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects too.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a range of birth defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.