Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could assist you claim compensation to cover the costs of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects may be complex, so you should seek legal counsel as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor can be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits for birth defects can determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor could be liable for an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to fetal distress. This can cause a number of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. Injuries can include conditions like Erb's Palsy, which occurs when the nerves that energize and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process and the caput succedaneum is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can provide a no-cost consultation to examine your case and birth defect law Firms decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents identify the root of a child's birth injury, or defect. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Certain common medications have a significant impact on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most commonly used. These drugs have been linked with an increased risk of limb defects and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet the standards of care required, they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their products. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to determine the reason for the birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens, because they can influence the healthy development of a foetus by causing chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are used in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies who were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family is concerned that the birth defect in their child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should speak with an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb pollutants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and some could be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water, and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause numerous birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects can also be associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from various Birth Defect Law Firms defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.