Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect law firms defect this can be devastating for you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file an action to collect compensation for the cost of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and it is essential to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. If a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and cause birth defects or injuries or injury, they could be held liable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's health condition may be the result of a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could be liable for a birth injury when they fail to identify or respond adequately to fetal distress. This can lead to a range of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is the caput succedaneum, a swelling on the scalp. Both can result in lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy, they can also occur as a result of medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been linked with an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet this standard of care, they could be held accountable for medical negligence. Pharma companies can also be held accountable for not adequately inform mothers of the risks associated with their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist family members receive compensation for future and current medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury and also loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects so that they can bring a suit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or cause organs that are malformed. These chemicals are present in many different settings, including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies that were involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects a child's birth defects may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical or chemical substances, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the environment and then develop birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers that are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's chances of having birth defects as well.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a variety of birth defects resulting from the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.