Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could assist you file for compensation for the cost of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, so you should consult a lawyer as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. When a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and result in birth defect or injury or injury, they could be held responsible for damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can assist you in determining whether your child's illness could be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or fail to respond appropriately. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup, while injuries are caused by something that happens during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. These injuries can be caused by issues like Erb's syndrome that occurs when the nerves that power and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to review your situation and determine the best option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able help parents determine the root of a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and factors during the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused as a result of medications. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most commonly used. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to consider the potential risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. When doctors fail to meet this standard of care they could be held accountable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers about the risks that come with their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for current and future medical expenses that result from the injury or disability, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital fees physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to identify the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. They are referred to as teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus by producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals are found in many different settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons 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 during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family is concerned that the birth defect of their child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should talk to a DC birth defect lawsuit injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are called Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are also related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects too.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed many lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from various birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.