The Ultimate Glossary Of Terms About Birth Defect Litigation

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth, it can cause a huge impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing a claim to recover compensation for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects could be complex, so you should consult a lawyer as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor can be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's health condition may be due to a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can cause numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up however, injuries are caused by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or during delivery. The causes of injuries include issues like Erb's syndrome, which occurs when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or damaged during birth and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these could result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a free consultation to examine your case and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents identify the cause of a child's birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and factors during a mother's pregnancy, they can also occur because of medications. A variety of common medications can have negative effects on fetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These medications have been linked to a higher chance of limb deformities, brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to consider the potential risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. When doctors fail to meet the requirements of this standard of care, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their drugs. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of a pregnancy.

An attorney for birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This can include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover the reason for the birth defect law firms defect, so they can sue companies which expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are just a few 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 lead to abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in many different locations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families whose children were 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 a combination between medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects that their child's birth defect may be a result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should consult an DC Birth defect lawsuit injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water, and some of them are harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that has been contaminated can trigger a variety of birth defects and health problems. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers also increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits typically involve complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.