Why Nobody Cares About Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth deformity it could have a devastating effect on you and your entire family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. Doctors can be held accountable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's health condition may be the result of a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be responsible for birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This can result in a variety of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered due to something happening during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum which is a swelling on the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to review your case and determine the most appropriate way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the cause for a child's birth defect. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is especially evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines, certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to be aware of the potential risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care they could be held liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers that come with their drugs. For birth defect attorney instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, income loss and birth defect attorney quality of living. This could include hospital costs, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women and other drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the cause of birth defects so they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens, because they can influence the healthy development of a embryo through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in a variety of environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause various birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a range of birth defects resulting from improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.