Why It Is Important to Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

Finding out that your child has a birth defect could turn what should have been an enjoyable experience into a stressful and uncertain one. It is crucial to contact an experienced medical malpractice and birth defect lawyer immediately.

You'll need to collect bills and receipts, credit card payments and other evidence of your losses in order to get full settlement for your losses. We have successfully represented families in lawsuits against big electronics firms and agricultural pesticide companies as well as commercial growers.

Medical Malpractice

Many birth defects are caused by medical errors or malpractice that occurred during pregnancy. Certain of these problems are more severe than others however they can all be devastating for the child and loved ones. A medical malpractice lawyer can determine if the doctor committed an error that caused the defect or injury.

Doctors can identify some birth defects through screening tests during pregnancy. These tests can be conducted and correctly to inform parents of the possibility that their child might have a birth defect. This information could enable them to decide to terminate the pregnancy, or at the very least prepare for the birth of the child and treatment. Medical malpractice can be a problem when the doctor is unable to interpret or perform these tests, or failing to inform the parents of the results.

Medical treatments for birth defects are usually expensive. They can include surgeries, specialists, medication as well as speech and physical therapies and assistive equipment. The compensation a lawsuit for wrongful birth can assist in easing the financial burden due to these expenses and make it easier for families to get the treatment their child requires. Medical malpractice lawsuits are often complex and time-sensitive. It's therefore important to hire an experienced attorney immediately.

Prescription Drugs

Although modern technology and recent developments in the field of medicine have drastically reduced the chance of birth defects and injuries, they are still possible. Birth defects that are serious or moderate and injuries often require lifelong medical care. In certain cases, they can even cause death. A Boston dangerous drugs lawyer can assist parents to recover compensation to cover their child's medical expenses in the near and future, including hospitalizations and doctor's appointments, birth defect Attorneys rehabilitation services, assistive equipment and more.

If a doctor prescribes a medication to an expecting mother that increases the chance of her child developing a birth defect, they could be guilty of medical malpractice. They are required to know which medications could negatively affect the growth of the fetus and to avoid prescribing harmful medications to the embryo.

Prescription drugs that increase the risk of a birth defect are referred to as teratogens. They include anti-seizure medicines like Dilantin, Lamictal, Tegretol and Topamax. The FDA has issued warnings regarding the use of these medications during pregnancy. They could increase the risk of developing cleft lips and cleft palates, as well as the brain, heart and lung abnormalities. These drugs also carry a risk of miscarriage for women who are pregnant or nursing. Parents can sue doctors, manufacturers of the drugs as well as the pharmacists who prescribed them for failing to warn about the dangers.

Toxic Chemicals

Parents often wonder why their child was born with a birth deformity. In reality, several factors could cause birth defects, ranging from the effects of medications to exposure to toxic chemicals in utero.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 1 in 33 babies are born with a birth defect. These birth defects can be serious or minor and can be life-threatening. A lot of the time, a birth defect is an unfortunate genetic anomaly that happens due to no fault of the mother. However, a significant portion of birth defects are the result of exposure to chemicals or environmental elements that occurs in the womb. These chemicals are called teratogens and they increase the chance of developing functional or structural abnormalities that are not reverseable in offspring.

There are a myriad of industrial chemicals that have been associated with birth defects and other reproductive harms, and a lot of people across the country are exposed to these chemicals every day. From technology and semiconductor factories with clean rooms to pesticides on farms and nurseries and even automobile, plastics and paint manufacturing plants, the list of potentially harmful chemicals is long.

A lot of the time, the corporations that produce these chemicals fail to properly test them for possible effects on humans and it's not unusual for them to fail to include adequate warnings on their products or services. LK's birth defect attorneys can assist families in fighting large corporations who put profits before the safety and health of their employees and children.

Environmental Exposure

Being a parent of a child who has a birth defect can be extremely distressing for parents as it will require medical care throughout the child's life. Some birth defects can cause mental and physical disabilities in the infant depending on the degree of the defect.

Some birth defects can't be prevented due to genetics. However exposure to chemicals or environmental factors can cause a myriad of other. These can include prescription drugs or toxic chemicals that may be ingested by the mother, or even from chemical substances that have caused contamination of the groundwater or air in the community.

In addition to medical malpractice birth defect lawsuits are filed against businesses or individuals that are liable for the child's injuries. If a physician prescribes a medication that increases the chance of having a birth defect then they could be held responsible.

The same is true for companies or individuals who expose employees to hazardous chemicals and other substances. Numerous studies have shown that exposures to pesticides or fungicides along with paints, metals and lead may increase the likelihood of a child developing certain types of birth defects. For this reason, lawsuits have been filed against beauty salons and metal cleaning facilities, semiconductor manufacturing facilities, and paint factories for their role in the development of serious birth defects in children. Web-based integrated birth defect surveillance in New York State. Wang, Y., Tao, Z., Steen, P.M., Cross, birth defect attorneys P.K., Druschel, C.M. Hwang, S.-A. Journal of Public Health Management & Practice. 14(6): E1-E10. 2008.