12 Companies That Are Leading The Way In Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can cause a huge impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects may be able to help you seek compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complex, so you should consult a lawyer whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. If a doctor's actions fall below this standard and cause birth defects or injuries, they can be held liable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's illness could be due to an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be the cause of an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to distress of the fetus. This can lead to a range of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) 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 make-up and injuries are triggered by something occurring during labor, pregnancy, or birth. Injuries can include conditions like Erb's Palsy that occurs when the nerves which energize and control an infant's arms are stretched or torn during the birth process and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can provide a free consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able to help parents determine the root cause of an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and birth defects other factors that occur during a mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medications. Many common medications have a significant impact on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These medications have been linked to an increased risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider the potential risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, then they may be held liable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could 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 serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancies.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital, pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens, birth defects because they can affect the healthy development a embryo through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are present in diverse settings like semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies who were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical such as benzene, they should seek out an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

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

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from coal that has been contaminated can trigger numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents like trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers also increase the risk of birth defects, writes in the official Ivimall blog, in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a range of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.