Say "Yes" To These 5 Birth Defect Case Tips

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Attorney

The joy of being a parent can turn into a harrowing event when you learn that your child was born with a birth defect. Most birth defects require lifelong medical attention, which could result in staggering financial costs.

A New York birth defects attorney can determine if the condition of your child is caused by medical malpractice or harmful chemicals or drugs.

Causes of Birth Defects

If your child has a birth defect which could have been prevented by a medical professional, you should contact a Long Island birth defects attorney promptly. A reputable attorney can handle the previous steps swiftly and efficiently, so that you have time to grieve for your injured family member.

Birth defects are functional or structural changes in the body of a fetus that can affect almost any part of the human body. They can cause physical issues or developmental and intellectual disabilities for example, difficulty learning or communicating or difficulty with walking or taking care of oneself.

Some birth defects can be diagnosed before the baby is born using specific tests, like studying the blood cells in a sample or by examining samples of amniotic fluid or the placenta. Increasingly, doctors can also diagnose birth defects through fetal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging.

Some birth defects can be caused by genetic causes, such as abnormalities of a fetus’s chromosomes and genes. These defects can be passed down from parents, or they may be caused by mutations in the DNA of the embryo that occurred during conception. Some of the most common genetic birth defects include spina bifida, trisomy 21, and Tay-Sachs disease. Many other genetic birth defects have no known cause at all.

Medical Malpractice

If you or your child has suffered injuries to the body due to an error made by a doctor or health medical professional, you could be able to sue for medical malpractice. This could be due to a failure to diagnose or treat, for example, doctors who do not take your symptoms seriously or giving a wrong diagnosis and not initiating the correct treatment or failing to follow-up on test results and medication mistakes (e.g. anesthesia mistakes such as giving excessive or the wrong type of medication) and surgical mistakes (e.g. or a surgeon removing a surgical retractor blade in the patient during surgery).

Finding an attorney with experience in malpractice suits can be difficult. You can ask family members, friends, and attorneys in other areas for recommendations. You can also reach out to your state bar association. The majority of bar associations have search/referral tools to help you locate an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.

Chemical Exposure

Sometimes birth problems are caused by exposure to dangerous chemicals that affect the mother or foetus. Many of these chemicals are employed in workplaces where they are used in the production of products like plastics, paints, batteries, and ceramic glazes. These chemicals are ingested, inhaled or just absorbed through the skin. Some of these toxins have been proven to increase the risk of the child to develop birth defects, such as spina-bifida or other physical and psychological conditions.

These teratogen chemical agents may be found in drugs that are not prescribed by doctors, in chemicals used in the workplace such as those used in semiconductor "clean room" environments or in toxic chemicals that can contaminate the air and water in communities. The Thornton Law Firm has represented many parents whose children have been born with serious birth defects after the mothers were exposed to glycol ethers as well as pesticides and coal ash at their workplace.

Contact an experienced New York birth injury lawyer for a free consultation today should you suspect that your child's birth defects were caused through medical negligence, hazardous drug or exposure to toxic substances during pregnancy. These claims have an extremely strict statute of limitations and are time-sensitive. An experienced attorney can determine whether a child is able to file a claim, and whether it should be filed through the court system or through a settlement agreement.

Product Liability

Many birth defects are caused by an incorrect prescription or exposure to chemicals. It is essential for parents to contact an attorney for birth defects immediately when they suspect that the child's condition is the result of negligence in the medical field or exposure to dangerous drugs. These cases can be complicated and extremely time-sensitive.

Medical malpractice claims are usually based on the environmental factors that lead to birth defects, such as incorrectly prescribed medications or drugs or care that is inadequate during pregnancy. Families should seek legal advice as soon as they can because the statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims is only one year.

A lawsuit for a birth defect caused by medication may also be filed if the doctor was negligent when prescribing medication to a mother. For example the doctor failed to understand the interaction of a drug with other medications that the woman may be taking or birth defects didn't adequately inform her of the side effects. A Maryland lawyer for birth defects in medication can help clients recover damages when a doctor acts negligently and causes a birth injury or birth defect.

A family with a baby with a severe birth defect law firm defect may be required to pay for a hefty amount of medical treatment, surgery and therapy throughout the child's lifetime. A birth defect lawyer who is knowledgeable and experienced can assist parents determine if the medical condition of their child was due to negligence in the medical field, a dangerous substance or exposure to toxic substances.