Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect this can be devastating for the entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the cost of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should consult a lawyer as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must 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 has experience in Birth Defect Law Firms defect lawsuits will help you determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail diagnose fetal distress or do not respond appropriately. This can lead to a range of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both of these can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the best option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents determine the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of common medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been linked with an increased risk of limb defects and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet the standards of care required, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for current and future medical expenses that result from the disability or injury, as well as loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the reason for the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are used in a variety of situations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several firms that were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these 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 are caused by the combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect in their child could result from medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb pollutants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens is the name given to these chemicals. Over 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium from coal that has been contaminated can trigger a variety of birth defects and health issues. Industrial solvents, such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase the chances of having birth defect lawsuit defects as well.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from many birth defects due to an unintentional exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.