Birth Defect Litigation Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

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 expenses and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, and you should seek legal counsel immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. If the actions of a doctor are in violation of this standard and result in birth defects or injuries the doctor could be held liable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's health condition may be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may be liable for an injury to the fetus if they fail to identify or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This can cause many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup however, injuries are caused by an event that occurs during pregnancy, labor, or birth. Injury can include Erb's Palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum which is an inflammation of the scalp. Both of them can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. 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

An attorney for birth defects may be able to assist parents in determining the reason behind an infant's birth injury. Many birth defects are caused by birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications have a significant impact on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been linked to an increase in chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to consider the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies could also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers about the risks that come with their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist family members receive compensation for future and current medical expenses that result from the disability or injury as well as loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital fees as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect attorneys defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities because due to the negligence of corporations exposing pregnant women to chemicals and medications that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially-trained to identify the cause of birth defects so they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. They are referred to as teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus through making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of firms that were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families who had children born with severe birth defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals such as benzene, they should seek out an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the environment and then develop birth defects. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects can also be caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers also increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a range of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and birth defect attorneys expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.