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, it can have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could help to file a claim for compensation to cover the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and it is essential to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. Doctors can be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has expertise in lawsuits for birth defects will help you determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be responsible for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose or adequately respond to fetal distress. This could lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or birth defect labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum which is swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect law firm defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your situation and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents identify the cause of the birth injury or defect. Many birth defects result from genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is especially relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostosis.

It is a doctor's professional duty to be aware of these risks when prescribing medicines for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not properly warning mothers of the dangers that come with their medicines. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects, so that they can bring a suit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects are the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. They are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy growth of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or lead to organs to be malformed. These chemicals are used in a variety of situations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies that were involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects due to the toxic chemical exposures on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemical. 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 chemicals such as benzene, they should seek out a DC birth injury attorney 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 is the name given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause various birth defects and health issues. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are well-known to increase the risk of birth defects too.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a range of birth defects caused by improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a complicated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.