Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an appeal to receive compensation for the expenses of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. Doctors can be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's condition could have been caused by an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and don't respond appropriately. This can lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injuries can include ailments like Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves which energize and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can offer a free consultation to examine your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

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 genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur because of medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's job is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care they could be held accountable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for current and future medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury, as well as loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action 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. They are trained to discover the cause of the birth defect, so they can bring a lawsuit against the companies who expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or at their homes.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens, because they can affect the healthy development a foetus by causing chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals can be present in a variety situations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children 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 between medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child could be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from their environment, they can cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water and a few are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

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

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from many birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.