"The Birth Defect Litigation Awards: The Best Worst And Weirdest Things We ve Ever Seen

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing claim for reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled, so it is important to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor can be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine if your child's illness could be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or the birth defect law firm.

A doctor could be liable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to diagnose or respond adequately to fetal distress. This can cause a number of serious complications, including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum which is an inflammation of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability, and continued treatment can cost a significant amount of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation to review your case, and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may help parents determine the root of an infant's birth injury. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Certain common medications have a profound effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb deformities and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf 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. They are trained to identify the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens since they interfere with the normal development of a embryo through chemical changes that cause abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals are present in a variety situations, such as semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders, in babies born to mothers exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to hold companies accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements on behalf families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

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

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

For example, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated can cause various birth defects, as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents, such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve complex scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.