Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can be devastating for you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an action to collect compensation for the expenses of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, which is why you should consult with a legal professional immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. If a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and cause birth defects or injuries and/or death, they may be held liable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving kewanee birth defect lawyer defects can assist you in determining if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or kewanee birth Defect lawyer delivery.

A doctor may also be accountable for birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or adequately respond to fetal distress. This can lead to various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The difference 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. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - a swelling on the scalp. Both of these can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will offer a free consultation to analyze your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents identify the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defects are caused by the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Certain commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is particularly true in the first three months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines, certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been linked to an increase in risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostosis.

The duty of a doctor is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to the requirements of this standard of care, they could be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women 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 that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to their impact on the development of the fetus through producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or lead to organs that are malformed. These chemicals are present in diverse settings like the manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include hydrocarbons with aliphatic properties, like trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against several 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 obtained significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family is concerned that the birth defect of their child could be due to medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the name for these chemicals. Over 4 million chemicals are present in our air, food and water and a few can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from contaminated coal can cause a variety of hearne birth defect law firm defects, as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's chance of having birth defects.

The experienced lawyers at LK for birth defects have filed many lawsuits in behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.