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 have a devastating effect on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file an appeal to receive reimbursement for the costs of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complex, so you should seek legal counsel whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. When a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and birth defect cause an injury or birth defect the doctor could be held responsible for injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine whether your child's health condition may have been caused by a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be accountable for birth injuries if they fail to identify or adequately respond to distress in the fetus. This can cause a number of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup, while injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or delivery. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment can cost a significant amount of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to examine your case and determine the most appropriate course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may help parents determine the root of a child's birth defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and other factors that occur during the pregnancy of a mother however, they can also be caused as a result of medications. Many common medications have a profound effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most commonly used. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers about the risks of their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and the 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 file an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects so they can bring a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to the fact that they interfere with the normal development of a foetus by causing chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are present in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes that the birth defect of their child may be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from their environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens are the name for these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, birth defect arsenic from drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause a variety of birth defects, as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers also 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 skilled birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a variety of birth defects resulting from wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits typically require an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.