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

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can cause a huge impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing an appeal to receive reimbursement for the costs of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defect attorneys defects may be complicated, so you should seek legal counsel as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. When a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and result in an injury or birth defect or injury, they could be held liable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's condition may be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may be liable for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose or adequately respond to distress in the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, Birth Defect including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is the caput succedaneum, swelling of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to review your case, and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents determine the root of the birth injury of a child. Many birth defects are caused by the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of common medications can have a profound effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of deformities in the limbs and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's duty is to be aware of the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers of the dangers associated with their drugs. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This can include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities because of the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially trained to find out the reason for the birth defect to file a lawsuit against companies which expose mothers to teratogens while they work or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to the fact that they affect the development of a healthy foetus by causing chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals can be used in a variety of environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of 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 because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family is concerned that their child's birth defect may be due to medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed many lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from a variety of 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.