10 Meetups Around Birth Defect Litigation You Should Attend

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity, it can have a devastating effect on the entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects can help you claim reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and it is essential to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor could be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defect lawsuit defects or injuries. 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 accountable for birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum which is swelling of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defect Lawsuit defects will offer a free consultation in order to examine your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents determine the reason for the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy, they can also occur as a result of medication. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to the requirements of this standard of care, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers about the risks that come with their medication. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for current and future medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury as well as loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could 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 file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with 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 identify the cause of birth defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens since they influence the healthy development of a embryo through chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are found in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by the combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are inhaled or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are known as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and a few can be harmful when they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium in coal that has been contaminated can trigger a variety of birth defects and health issues. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are utilized in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are well-known to increase the chance of having birth defects too.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on the name of children who suffered from many birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.