Guide To Birth Defect Litigation: The Intermediate Guide The Steps To 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 effect on you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and birth defect their infants. Doctors can be held accountable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could be liable for an injury to the fetus if they fail to identify or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This can lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy or delivery. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation to look over your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might help parents determine the reason behind a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are due to the genetics of a mother's pregnancy, they can also occur due to medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant impact on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and more. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is the duty of a doctor to take into consideration the potential 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 malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers about the risks of their medication. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the disability or injury and also loss of income and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of 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. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the cause of birth defects, so that they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens, because they can interfere with the normal development of a fetus through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are found in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

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

Environmental Exposure

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

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, can cause birth defect attorney defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, which are utilized in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are well-known to increase the chances of having birth defects.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a range of birth defects resulting from the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.