Birth Defect Litigation Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Why You Should Hire a birth defect attorney Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects could help to file a claim for compensation to cover the costs of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, which is why you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held accountable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defects lawsuits will help you determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be responsible for Birth defect attorneys a birth injury when they fail to identify or appropriately respond to fetal distress. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will provide a free consultation to look over your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able to help parents determine the root cause of a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medication. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medicines for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care, they could be held liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers of the dangers that come with their medicines. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the disability or injury and also loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the root of birth defects so they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects include the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or create organs that are malformed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been known to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes the birth defect of their child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. These chemicals are called teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals can be dangerous to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are well-known to increase the risk of birth defects.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.