30 Inspirational Quotes About Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating effect on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an action to collect compensation for birth defect lawsuit the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. Doctors can be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor may also be responsible for birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or respond adequately to distress in the fetus. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. The causes of injuries include ailments like Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves that energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or torn during the birth process and the caput succedaneum is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to review your case and determine the most appropriate way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able to assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth defect. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Many commonly used medications can have a negative impact on foetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostosis.

It is the duty of a doctor to consider the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers that come with their drugs. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect attorney can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to identify the cause of birth defects, so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens, because they can affect the healthy development a foetus by causing chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth problems, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect 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

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and a few could be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are well-known to increase the chance of having birth defects.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a myriad of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.