Birth Defect Litigation Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect it can cause a lot of grief for the entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and birth defect lawsuits other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help you file for compensation to cover the costs of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects can be complex, so you should seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. If a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and cause a birth defect or injury the doctor could be held accountable for damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's health condition may be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be responsible for birth injuries if they fail to recognize or appropriately respond to distress in the fetus. This can result in numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic makeup and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or during delivery. The causes of injuries include conditions such as Erb's palsy, which occurs when the nerves that energize and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or torn during the birth defect law firm process and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation to look over your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may help parents determine the root cause of a child's birth defect. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen due to medications. Certain common medications have a profound effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs, certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostois.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers about the risks associated with their medicines. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring 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. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the cause of birth defects, so that they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens, because they can influence the healthy development of a fetus through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals can be used in a variety of environments, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth problems, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies who were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defect law firms defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and some are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers also increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects caused by the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.