11 "Faux Pas" That Are Actually OK To Make With Your Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can have a devastating effect on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects can help you file for reimbursement for Birth defect attorneys the expenses of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects could be complex, so you should seek legal counsel as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. If the actions of a doctor are in violation of this standard and result in an injury or birth defect and/or death, they may be held accountable for injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine if your child's health condition may be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be responsible for an injury to the fetus if they fail in diagnosing or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This can lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, an inflammation of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can provide 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 attorney may help parents determine the cause for an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence a mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused due to medications. Certain common medications have a significant impact on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to take into consideration the potential risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not properly warning mothers of the dangers that come with their products. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This could include doctor's, hospital pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the root of birth defects, so that they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function, or Birth defect attorneys can cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are present 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 perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have won substantial settlements for families who had children born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

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

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from their environment They could cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the name for these substances. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water Some of them could be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are recognized to increase a woman's chances of having birth defects as well.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a wide 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 experts as witnesses, like toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.