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

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating effect on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly become a burden.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help to file a claim for compensation for the costs of caring for birth your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. When a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and result in an injury or birth defect or injury, they could be held accountable for injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits for birth defects will help you determine if your child's illness could be the result of an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could be liable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail in diagnosing or properly respond to distress of the fetus. This could lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or delivery. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum which is an inflammation of the scalp. Both can result in a lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able to help parents determine the reason behind an infant's birth injury. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defect law firm defects. Many common medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most commonly used. These medications have been linked with an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers associated with their medications. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families receive compensation for future and current medical expenses that result from the injury or disability, in addition to loss of earnings and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities as a result due to the negligence of corporations that expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the cause of the birth defects so that they can file a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens, because they can affect the healthy development a foetus by causing chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are present in various settings, including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defect attorney defects include hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of companies that were involved in 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 have children who were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical negligence, birth prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment and then develop birth defects. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause numerous birth defects, as well as 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 also increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from various birth defects due to wrongful toxic or chemical exposure at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.