Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can have a devastating impact on you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help you seek compensation to cover the costs of taking care of your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. If the actions of a doctor do not meet the standards and cause birth defects or injuries and/or death, they may be held accountable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's illness could have been caused by an error in medical care during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and don't respond appropriately. This can lead to a range of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or during delivery. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - a swelling on the scalp. Both of these conditions can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defect law firm defects can provide a no-cost consultation to examine your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may help parents determine the root of a child's birth defect. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses and birth defect Attorneys babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's job is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care they could be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help family members receive compensation for current and future medical expenses associated with the disability or injury in addition to loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result 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 reason for birth defects so they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus by producing chemical changes that block normal cell function, or can cause malformed organs. These chemicals are present in a variety environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defect lawsuit defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to make companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families that had children born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family is concerned that the birth defect in their child could result from medical negligence, birth Defect Attorneys prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these substances. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a myriad of birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.