20 Myths About Birth Defect Litigation: Busted

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could assist you file for compensation to cover the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and it is essential to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor could be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine whether your child's condition could be the result of a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

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

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup and injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. These injuries can be caused by issues like Erb's syndrome that occurs when the nerves that stimulate and control an infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to examine your situation and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents identify the root of a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of the pregnancy of a mother but they can also happen due to medications. Certain common medications have a significant effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and Birth Defect Attorneys chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostosis.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to consider these risks when prescribing medicines for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers about the dangers of their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist family members receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the disability or injury and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of companies exposing pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover what caused the birth defect to sue companies who expose mothers to teratogens when they are at work or in their homes.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects are the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they influence the healthy development of a fetus through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been found to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of companies who were responsible for Birth defect attorneys the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed by or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are called Teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and a few can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are well-known to increase the chances of having birth defects as well.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys - Recommended Web site - have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a myriad of birth defects as a result of unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits usually involve a complicated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.