10 Meetups Around Birth Defect Litigation You Should Attend

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an action to collect compensation for the expenses of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complex and it is essential to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. If the actions of a doctor are not in line with this standard and cause birth defect or injury or injury, they could be held accountable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine whether your child's condition could be due to an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize fetal distress and fail to respond appropriately. This can result in a variety of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is the caput succedaneum, an inflammation of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the reason for the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medication. A variety of commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is especially true in the first three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to be aware of the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers about the risks of their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for the future and present medical expenses related to the disability or injury in addition to loss of income and birth defect attorneys quality of life. This could include hospital expenses physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can sue families of children with congenital disabilities because of the negligence of businesses exposing pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the reason for the birth defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy growth of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function, or can cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be present in a variety locations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defect lawsuit defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time 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 secured significant settlements for families who have children who were born with severe birth defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family is concerned that their child's birth defect may result from medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from their environment, they can cause serious birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects, as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a variety of birth defects caused by wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or in their homes. These lawsuits typically require sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.