Don t Forget Birth Defect Litigation: 10 Reasons Why You Don t Really Need It

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect this can have a devastating effect on you and your entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects can help you file for reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and cause an injury or birth defect, they can be held accountable for harms suffered by their patient. 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 during delivery.

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

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can include issues like Erb's syndrome that occurs when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or torn during birth and the caput succedaneum is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them 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 free consultation to review your case, and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents determine the root of a child's birth defect. Many birth defects result from the genetics of the baby or other factors during pregnancy. However, 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 medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet this standard of care, they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers that come with their medicines. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help family members receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses resulting from the injury or disability, in addition to loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could include doctor's, hospital, pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities because from the negligence of companies exposing pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to identify the cause of birth defects so they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the growth of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or create organs that are malformed. These chemicals are present 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 trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects due to the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth Defect law firms (mariskamast.net) defects could be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed or taken in by pregnant women. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals could be dangerous to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated can cause various birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects can also be linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers can increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, birth defect law firms and video displays.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defects caused by unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists and Birth Defect Law Firms epidemiologists.