Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the expenses of taking care of your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are complex and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and cause birth defects or injuries, they can be held accountable for damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's health condition may be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be the cause of an injury that occurs during birth if they fail in diagnosing or adequately respond to fetal distress. This can lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic makeup however, injuries are caused by something occurring during labor, pregnancy or delivery. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy, where the nerves controlling the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to examine your case and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents identify the root of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused due to medications. Many commonly used medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostosis.

It is the duty of a doctor to be aware of these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their medications. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, and also loss of income and quality of life. This could include doctor's, hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or Birth defect Lawyer drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to find out the reason for the birth defect, so they can bring a lawsuit against the 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 include the fungicides, metals, birth defect lawyer herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus through producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or create organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be present in a variety settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several 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 secured significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

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

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water, and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause various birth defects, as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects can also be caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase a woman's risk of birth defects too.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a myriad of birth defects resulting from wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.