Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity this can have a devastating effect on you and your entire family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects can help you claim compensation for the cost of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor could be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's illness could be due to an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to recognize fetal distress and are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can result in 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, while injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or the birth. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is the caput succedaneum, a swelling on the scalp. Both of them can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost 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 in determining the reason behind a child's birth defect lawsuit injury. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a significant effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been linked to an increase in risk of limb deformities and birth Defect lawsuit heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not properly warning mothers of the risks associated with their drugs. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

An attorney for Birth Defect Lawsuit defects can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and the quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well as aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the root of the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against the companies which expose mothers to teratogens during the time they are working or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens, because they can affect the development of a healthy foetus by causing chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different environments, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are the aliphatic hydrocarbons like trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who have children who were born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family believes the birth defect of their child may result from medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women consume or absorb pollutants from the environment, they can cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals may be dangerous to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and birth defect lawsuit video displays.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.