A Time-Travelling Journey: What People Discussed About Birth Defect Litigation 20 Years Ago

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth deformity it can cause a lot of grief for the entire family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing claim for reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and it is essential to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor can be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical mistake during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can result in a variety of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum which is swelling of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to examine your situation and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents determine the cause of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused as a result of medications. A variety of commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is particularly applicable in the early months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines including certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, Birth defect Attorneys heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they may be held liable for negligence. Pharma companies can also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers about the dangers associated with their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses resulting from the injury or disability, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities as a result from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the cause of the birth defect in order to bring a lawsuit against the companies that expose mothers to teratogens during the time they are at work or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus through creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or lead to organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of locations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of 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 that had children born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. 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 or chemical substances, they should speak with an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

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

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase a woman's chance of having birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a myriad of birth defects caused by wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve complex scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.