Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating effect on your family and you. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could assist you file for compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, and you should consult with a legal professional immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. If a doctor's actions fall below this standard and result in birth defect or injury, they can be held accountable for injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine whether your child's condition could be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail identify fetal distress, or do not respond appropriately. This can result in many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy or the birth. Injuries can result from conditions such as Erb's palsy that occurs when the nerves that stimulate and control an infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment can cost a significant amount of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will offer a free consultation in order to analyze your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents identify the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. 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 due to medications. Many common medications have a profound effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy drugs are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they may be held liable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their drugs. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could sue parents of children with congenital disabilities because of the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the cause of the birth defect to sue companies which expose mothers to teratogens as they work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to the fact that they interfere with the normal development of a foetus by causing chemical changes that cause abnormal organs, or disrupt normal cell function. These chemicals are present in many different settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers (www.tadalive.com) have secured significant settlements for families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth defect law firms injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water, and some of them are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

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

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a wide range of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.