Guide To Birth Defect Litigation: The Intermediate Guide To Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an appeal to receive compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor can be held accountable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects can help determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be responsible for an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or respond adequately to distress in the fetus. This can result in a variety of serious complications, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is caput succedaneum which is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might help parents determine the root cause of an infant's birth injury. Many birth defects result from genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of common medications can have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been linked with an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. When doctors fail to meet the requirements of this standard of care, they could be held accountable for medical negligence. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not properly inform mothers of the risks that come with their medication. For instance, Zofran, birth defect a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses related to the injury or disability, in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover the reason for the birth defect in order to bring a lawsuit against the companies who expose mothers to teratogens as they work or in their homes.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens, because they can affect the healthy development a fetus through chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are found in diverse settings like the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who have children who were born with severe defects due to the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals such as benzene, they should seek out an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the environment and then develop birth defects. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that has been contaminated can trigger numerous birth defect lawsuits defects, as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents, such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers also increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects due to accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at their workplace or home. These lawsuits typically involve complicated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.