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, it can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file a claim to recover compensation for the cost of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, so you should seek legal counsel whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. When a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and cause an injury or birth defect the doctor could be held accountable for harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defects lawsuits can help determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and don't respond appropriately. This can lead to a range of serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth defect attorney, or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to examine 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 assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth injury. Many birth defect law firm defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

It is the duty of a doctor to be aware of the potential risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their medicines. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for future and current medical expenses resulting from the injury or disability, and also loss of income and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit for families of children who have congenital disabilities because of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and medications that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the root of birth defects so they can file a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens because they influence the healthy development of a foetus by causing chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different settings, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane or birth defect trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to make companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. 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 talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women consume or birth defect absorb pollutants from the environment, they can cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the name for these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals are dangerous to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated can cause various birth defects and health issues. Certain birth defects are also linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers also increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects as a result of 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.