Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing a claim to recover reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defect attorneys defects can be a little tangled, so it is important to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor can be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's illness could have been caused by a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail in diagnosing or appropriately respond to fetal distress. This can cause a number of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up however, injuries are caused due to something happening during pregnancy, labor, or the birth. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is the caput succedaneum, an inflammation of the scalp. Both of these can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your situation and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

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 a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen due to medications. Certain common medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is particularly relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet this standard of care, they could be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not adequately inform mothers of the risks of their medication. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for current and future medical expenses that result from the disability or injury, in addition to loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well assistive devices and therapy.

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. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the cause of birth defects, so that they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens due to the fact that they affect the healthy development a foetus by causing chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are present in many different settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements on behalf families who had their children born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes their child's birth defect may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

Chemicals and other substances 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 present in our air, food and water and some could be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects can also be associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a variety 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, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.