30 Inspirational Quotes About Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can be devastating for you and your family. Medical bills, therapy expenses and other expenses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could help you claim compensation for the costs of caring for your children with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. If the actions of a doctor are not in line with this standard and result in an injury or birth defect or injury, they could be held accountable for harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor can also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can result in various serious problems, including 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. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's a swelling on the scalp. Both of these could lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to analyze 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 cause of a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen because of medications. Many common medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostosis.

It is the professional responsibility of doctors to consider these risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be held liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the risks associated with their drugs. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help family members receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and birth defect law firm other costs, in addition to assistive devices, and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect law firm (vimeo.com) defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defect lawsuit defects. These lawyers are specially trained to find out the root of the birth defect in order to bring a lawsuit against the companies which expose mothers to teratogens as they are working or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus by producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or create organs to be malformed. These chemicals are used in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders, in babies born to mothers exposed to them in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who had children born with severe defects due to the toxic chemical exposures on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes that their child's birth defect may be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should speak with an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from their environment, they can cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium in coal that has been contaminated can trigger a variety of birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects as well.

LK's experienced attorneys for hartford birth defect lawyer defects have filed numerous lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from various birth defects as a result of accidental exposure to toxic chemicals or chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.