A Birth Defect Litigation Success Story You ll Never Be Able To

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an action to collect reimbursement for the costs of caring for your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, so you should consult with a legal professional immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. A doctor can be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits for birth defects can determine whether your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor can also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail to detect fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This can cause numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused by something that happens during labor, pregnancy or the birth. These injuries can be caused by ailments like Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves that energize and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or torn during birth as well as caput succedaneum which is a swelling of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Certain commonly used medications can have negative effects on the fetuses. This is especially evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These medications have been linked to an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers about the dangers of their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

An attorney for birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This can include doctor's, hospital, pharmaceutical, and other costs, in addition to aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit for families of children with congenital disabilities because of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially trained to identify what caused the birth defect so that they can sue companies which expose mothers to teratogens when they work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy growth of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function or lead to organs to be malformed. These chemicals are found in a variety of situations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with severe defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects and other health issues. Certain birth defects are also linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase the risk of developing birth defects as well.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a range of birth defects caused by the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.