Do Not Make This Blunder With Your Birth Defect Litigation

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 costs and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an action to collect reimbursement for the costs of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and it is essential to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor can be held accountable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail to recognize or adequately respond to fetal distress. This can lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which occurs when the nerves that control the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, an inflammation of the scalp. Both of these conditions can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to look over your situation and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents determine the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of common medications can have a profound effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy drugs are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers about the dangers of their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for current and future medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other 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 that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to find out the cause of the birth defect, so they can bring a lawsuit against the companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, birth defect lawyer and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens since they affect the healthy development a embryo through chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are present in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include hydrocarbons with aliphatic properties, like dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects the birth defects of a baby could be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

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

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, may cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are known to increase the risk of birth defects as well.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a variety of birth defects resulting from wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.