Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity, it can have a devastating effect on your family and you. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects could help you file for compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, which is why 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. When a doctor's actions are not in line with this standard and cause birth defects or injuries or injury, they could be held accountable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's condition could be due to an error in medical care during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor can also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This could lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic makeup and injuries are triggered due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or the birth. These injuries can be caused by ailments like Erb's palsy that occurs when the nerves that power and control the infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defect lawsuit defects can provide a no-cost consultation to look over your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may help parents determine the cause for a child's birth defect. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of the mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur because of medications. Certain commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been linked to an increase in risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's duty is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to the standards of care required, they could be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers about the risks associated with their drugs. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to their impact on the development of the fetus through causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function, or can cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are found in a variety of settings, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial 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 can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause various birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects resulting from unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.