Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can be devastating for you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly become a burden.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an action to collect compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complex, so you should seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions fall below this standard and result in a birth defect or injury the doctor could be held responsible for harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects can help determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be the cause of an injury that occurs during birth defect attorney if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to fetal distress. This could lead to a variety of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. The causes of injuries include ailments like Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves that power and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during birth and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these conditions can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents identify the root of a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are due to the genetics of a mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medications. Certain common medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, birth defect lawyer chemotherapy drugs such as certain antibiotics and many more. These medications have been linked to a higher risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to be aware of these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. When doctors fail to meet the standards of care required, they could be held accountable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses related to the disability or injury and also loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could include hospital fees, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other costs, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect attorney defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to find out what caused the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against the companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to malformed organs. These chemicals can be found in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could 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 in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies who were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase the risk of birth defects as well.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects resulting from improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits typically require an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.