Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can be devastating for you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing an action to collect compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects can be complex, so you should consult a lawyer as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. Doctors can be held accountable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's illness could be due to an error made by a doctor during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor can also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail diagnose fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This can lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or birth. Injuries can include issues like Erb's syndrome which develops when the nerves that stimulate and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during birth and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost lots 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 course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A bremen birth defect lawyer defect attorney may be able help parents determine the reason behind an infant's grand terrace birth defect lawsuit injury. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and factors during the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur as a result of medications. Certain common medications have a significant effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers of the risks of their medication. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help family members receive compensation for future and current medical expenses related to the disability or injury and also loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit for families of children who have congenital disabilities because of the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth defects. They are trained to find out the root of the birth defect in order to file a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are working or in their homes.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or lead to organs that are malformed. These chemicals can be found in various settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who had children born with severe defects resulting from the toxic chemical exposures on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or vimeo exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from their environment, they can cause serious birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, vimeo arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents like benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, which are used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase the chance of having birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.