Guide To Birth Defect Litigation: The Intermediate Guide On 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 impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file a claim to recover compensation for the expenses of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, so you should seek legal counsel as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. If a doctor's actions are not in line with this standard and cause a birth defect or injury, they can be held liable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or fail to respond appropriately. 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 by something occurring during pregnancy, labor, or the birth. These injuries can be caused by issues like Erb's syndrome that occurs when the nerves which energize and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can provide a free consultation to review your case, and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents in determining the root cause of the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during the pregnancy of a mother but they can also happen as a result of medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been linked to an increase in chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to be aware of these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers of the risks that come with their medication. 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.

An attorney for birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This can include doctor's, hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit for families of children who have congenital disabilities because due to the negligence of corporations which expose pregnant women and other drugs that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the cause of birth defect law firm defects, so that they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens, because they can interfere with the normal development of a the fetus via chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different settings, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits to make companies accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be a result of medical malpractice, birth defect prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from their environment and then develop birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated may cause a variety of birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a wide range of birth defects due to improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.