Guide To Birth Defect Litigation: The Intermediate Guide For Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can be devastating for you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects could help to file a claim for reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. Doctors can be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's health condition may have been caused by an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could be liable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This can lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy, where the nerves controlling the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, a swelling on the scalp. Both of these could lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the most appropriate course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents determine the reason for the child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur due to medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant impact on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been linked with an increased 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 women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not properly warning mothers of the risks associated with their medicines. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women and drugs that can cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the root of birth defects so they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens as they interfere with the growth of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or cause organs that are malformed. These chemicals are found in many different settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to expose companies to liability for birth defect the families of soldiers in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the 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 that the birth defect law firm defects of a baby could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb pollutants from the environment and then develop birth defects. These substances are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium in coal that has been contaminated can trigger numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects as well.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a myriad of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits usually involve a complex scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.