Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity, it can be devastating for your family as well as you. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, which is why you should seek legal counsel whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor can be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition could be the result of an error in medical care during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be responsible for birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or appropriately respond to distress of the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused by something that happens during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury, or defect. Many birth defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Many commonly used medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their medicines. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This could include doctor's, hospital pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies 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 they can bring a suit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or create organs that are malformed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of firms that were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have obtained 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 noblesville birth defect lawsuit defects are caused by an unintended medical error as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects a child's birth defects may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from their environment They could cause serious Ashland Birth Defect Lawsuit defects. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, may cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase the risk of developing birth defects too.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.