Three Greatest Moments In Birth Defect Litigation History
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. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can add up quickly.
A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects can help you file for reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice whenever you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals must adhere to an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor could be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining whether your child's health condition may be the result of an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or during delivery.
A doctor could also be accountable for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to distress of the fetus. This can result in numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries like cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. The causes of injuries include conditions like Erb's Palsy which develops when the nerves that stimulate and control an infant's arms are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these conditions can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to analyze your situation and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.
Prescription Drugs
A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the root cause of an infant's birth injury. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications have a significant impact on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.
It is a doctor's professional duty to consider these risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers that come with their drugs. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.
A birth defect attorney can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This could include hospital fees, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other costs, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer could sue families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities as a result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth deformities. They are trained to discover what caused the birth defect so that they can sue companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their homes.
Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or create organs that are malformed. These chemicals are present in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.
Other chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf families whose children were born with severe defects because of 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 the birth defect in their child could result from medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.
If pregnant women ingest or absorb pollutants from the environment They could cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the name for these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water and some can be harmful when they come into contact with pregnant women.
For instance, arsenic from drinking water and cadmium in contaminated coal can cause a variety of birth defects as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents such as benzene, birth defect attorney toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are known to increase the risk of birth defects.
LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of 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 involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.
