It s A Birth Defect Litigation Success Story You ll Never Believe
Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child was born with a birth defect this can have a devastating effect on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly accumulate.
A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file an action to collect compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, which is why you should consult a lawyer whenever you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their babies. Doctors can be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine the cause of your child's illness. caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.
A doctor could also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail to diagnose or adequately respond to distress in the fetus. This could lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is called caput succedaneum. It's 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 review your case, and determine the best course for you and your baby.
Prescription Drugs
An attorney for birth defects may help parents determine the root cause of a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and factors during a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant effect on fetuses and babies, particularly during the first trimester of a pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostosis.
A doctor's duty is to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, they may be held liable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not adequately informing mothers about the risks associated with their products. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.
A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses that result from the disability or injury, and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other costs, as well assistive devices and therapy.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women 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 who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.
Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be found in many different settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.
Other chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits in order to make companies accountable for the families of soldiers in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families that had children born with severe birth defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.
Environmental Exposure
Certain birth defects can be caused by the combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a baby could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals or chemical substances, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.
Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. These chemicals are called Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.
Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated, for attorneys example, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers also increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.
LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a wide range of birth defects caused by wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts and embryologists.