Why You Should Focus On Improving Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect this can be devastating for your family as well as you. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the costs of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, which is why you should seek legal counsel as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions fall below this standard and cause a birth defect or injury and/or death, they may be held liable for the harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits for birth defects can assist you in determining if your child's condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor can also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to detect fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can cause a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

birth defect lawsuit injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another injury is called caput succedaneum. It's a swelling on the scalp. Both of these could cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to examine your case and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur as a result of medication. A variety of common medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is particularly relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications including certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's job is to be aware of these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers of the dangers 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 problems in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist families receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses that result from the disability or injury, and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit for families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to discover the cause of the birth defect in order to bring a lawsuit against the companies which expose mothers to teratogens when they work or at their homes.

Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects include metals, fungicides, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens due to their impact on the development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs that are malformed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other dangerous chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to make companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families who had children born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

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

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects are related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic or chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts and embryologists.