Don t Make This Mistake With Your Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could assist you file for compensation for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor could be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has expertise in lawsuits involving texas birth defect lawsuit defects will help you determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor could also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and fail to respond appropriately. This can lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and birth defect attorney hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. The causes of injuries include issues like Erb's syndrome which develops when the nerves which energize and control the infant's arms are stretched or torn during birth and the caput succedaneum is a swelling of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the cause for a child's birth defect. Many birth defects result from genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most common. These drugs have been linked to an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their medications. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families get compensation for future and current medical expenses related to the injury or disability, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital fees medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs and other costs, as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities because from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth deformities. They are trained to determine the reason for birth defects, so that they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Some of the chemical exposures that contribute to birth defects are metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called teratogens, because they can influence the healthy development of a embryo through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals are used in a variety of situations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are the aliphatic hydrocarbons like dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. These chemicals are known to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be the result of 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 serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these substances. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated can cause numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, utilized in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects.

LK's experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed many lawsuits on the name of children who suffered from a variety of birth defect attorney defects as a result of the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.