Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file a claim to recover compensation for the expenses of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should consult a lawyer whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions are not in line with this standard and result in an injury or birth defect or injury, they could be held accountable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits involving birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition may be due to an error made by a doctor during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be accountable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to identify or appropriately respond to distress of the fetus. This can lead to various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is the caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the cause of a child's birth defect lawyers injury, or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence a mother's pregnancy, they can also occur as a result of medications. A number of common medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to be aware of the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers about the risks associated with their medicines. 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 pregnancies.

An attorney who specializes in birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's prescription, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit for families of children with congenital disabilities because due to the negligence of corporations which expose pregnant women and drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the cause of the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose mothers to teratogens as they are working or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and firms pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they affect the healthy development a the fetus via chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals can be present in a variety settings, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe birth defect lawyers defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by an unintended medical error and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family believes the birth defect in their child could be a result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, firms food and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects are also caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are well-known to increase the chances of having birth defects as well.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed many lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from various birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.