Guide To Birth Defect Litigation: The Intermediate Guide On Birth Defect Litigation

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 assist you in filing a claim to recover compensation for the costs of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. When a doctor's actions do not meet the standards and result in birth defects or injuries, they can be held accountable for the injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's health condition may have been caused by an error in medical care during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could be liable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail in diagnosing or properly respond to fetal distress. This could lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another form of injury is caput succedaneum - swelling of the scalp. Both of them can 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 offer a free consultation to review your case, and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able help parents determine the root cause of an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and other factors that occur during a mother's pregnancy however, they may also occur as a result of medication. Many commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most popular. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to be aware of these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies could also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers of the risks associated with their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for the future and present medical expenses that result from the injury or disability, and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital fees as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the root of the birth defects so that they can bring a suit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as Teratogens as they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs to be malformed. These chemicals are present in a variety environments, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to make companies accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects resulting from the toxic chemical exposures on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are known as Teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals are present in our food, air and water Some of them are harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated may cause numerous birth defects, as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's skilled birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects caused by the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.