A Intermediate Guide To Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could assist you file for reimbursement for the expenses of taking care of your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. If a doctor's actions fall below this standard and result in birth defect or injury the doctor could be held accountable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor can also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or don't respond appropriately. This can lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered by something that happens during pregnancy, labor, or the birth. 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 injury is the caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a free consultation to analyze your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents identify the cause of the birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused as a result of medication. A number of commonly used medications can have negative effects on foetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and more. These drugs have been linked to an increase in risk of deformities in the limbs and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not properly warning mothers of the dangers associated with their medications. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital costs, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women and medications that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially-trained to identify the cause of the birth defects so that they can bring a suit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the healthy development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or cause organs that are malformed. These chemicals are found in a variety of locations, such as semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with serious defects as a result 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 the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and birth defect attorneys water Some of them can be harmful when they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, can cause birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a myriad of birth defects as a result of improper exposure to chemicals and birth defect attorneys toxic substances at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.