Do Not Make This Blunder With Your Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can have a devastating effect on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file an action to collect reimbursement for the costs of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for lawsuit birth defects are complicated and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor can be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine whether your child's condition could be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be responsible for an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or adequately respond to fetal distress. This could lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. The most common injuries are Erb's Palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is called caput succedaneum. It's swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to review your case and determine the best option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the cause of the birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and factors during the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen because of medications. Many common medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's responsibility is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their drugs. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses related to the disability or injury and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs and other expenses in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with 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 find out the reason for the birth defect in order to file a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens while they work or in their homes.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to auburn birth defect law firm defects are herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens because they affect the development of the fetus through causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them during the womb.

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

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects a child's birth defects may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated can cause various birth defects and health issues. Certain birth defects can also be associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are used in the manufacture of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase the risk of developing birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a complex scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.