10 Factors To Know About Birth Defect Litigation You Didn t Learn At School

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 losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and cause birth defect or injury and/or death, they may be held accountable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize fetal distress and are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can lead to a range of serious issues, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which occurs when the nerves that control the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's an inflammation of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to the genetics of a mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur due to medications. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is particularly relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and more. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not meet this standard of care they could be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers about the risks associated with their products. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families get compensation for future and current medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, and also loss of earnings and the quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's prescription, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and birth defect Lawyer therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify what caused the birth defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against the companies who expose mothers to teratogens when they work or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and 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 the fetus via chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are found in many different environments, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to make companies accountable for birth defect lawyer exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family believes that their child's birth defect may be a result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water and some can be harmful when they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause a variety of birth defects, as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are well-known to increase the risk of developing birth defects too.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a myriad of birth defects resulting from the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits often involve complex scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.