Guide To Birth Defect Litigation: The Intermediate Guide 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. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an action to collect compensation for the expenses of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. If the actions of a doctor are in violation of this standard and result in birth defects or injuries, they can be held liable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's illness could be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or the birth defect lawsuits.

A doctor may be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can result in various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum which is a swelling on the scalp. Both of them can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can provide a no-cost consultation to examine your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents in determining the reason behind a child's birth defect. Many birth defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications can have a negative impact 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 proven to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostosis.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to be aware of the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not meet this standard of care they could be held accountable for medical negligence. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for birth defect not adequately informing mothers about the dangers that come with their medication. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancy.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to identify the cause of birth defects so they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens as they interfere with the development of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals are present in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety 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 secured substantial settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with serious defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the environment and then develop birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

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

LK's experienced attorneys for birth defect attorneys defects have filed a variety of lawsuits in behalf of children suffering from many birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.