How To Create An Awesome Instagram Video About Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity, it can cause a lot of grief for your family as well as you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could assist to file a claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. When a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and cause an injury or birth defect the doctor could be held liable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can assist you in determining whether your child's condition could be due to a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor can also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail identify fetal distress, or fail to respond appropriately. This can lead to a range of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or during delivery. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - a swelling on the scalp. Both can result in 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 look over your case and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and factors during the pregnancy of a mother however, they can also be caused as a result of medication. A number of common medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most commonly used. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's responsibility is to be aware of the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for birth defect attorneys not adequately informing mothers of the dangers associated with their medicines. 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 the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect attorney can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This can include hospital costs medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect law firms defect lawyer may file a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects so that they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens because they affect the development of a healthy fetus through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are found in a variety of environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been known to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them 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 these birth defects lawyers have won substantial settlements for families who have children who were born with severe defects resulting from the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family is concerned that the birth defect in their child could be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from their environment and then develop birth defects. These substances are referred to as teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful when they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause various birth defects, as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects can also be associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are known to increase a woman's chances of having birth defects.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.