Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can cause a lot of grief for your family and you. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects can help to file a claim for compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, so you should seek legal counsel as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. When a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and result in an injury or birth defect or injury, they could be held responsible for damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's health condition may be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail to diagnose or respond adequately to fetal distress. This could lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injuries can include ailments like Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves which energize and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during birth as well as caput succedaneum which is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will provide a free consultation to examine your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able to assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications including certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor is to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers associated with their medicines. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

An attorney who specializes in birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This can include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

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 who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to identify the cause of birth defects, so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects are the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens since they interfere with the development of the fetus through making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or create organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies who were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or taken in by pregnant women. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals are present in our food, air and water and a few could be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For example, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects and health problems. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors display devices, birth defect lawyers silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve complex scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists embryologists and occupational medicine experts.