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 it could be devastating for you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing an action to collect reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. If a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and cause a birth defect or injury the doctor could be held responsible for harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to detect fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can result in various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is caput succedaneum - a swelling on the scalp. Both can result in a lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents identify the root of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen due to medications. Certain common medications have a significant effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and more. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their products. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and the quality of life. This can include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities because of the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the reason for the birth defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens, because they can affect the development of a healthy the fetus via chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals are used in a variety of situations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families who had children born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should speak with an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are called teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be dangerous to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and Birth Defect trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase the risk of birth defects too.

LK's experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of 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 require sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.