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

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing a claim to recover reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, so you should seek legal advice as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor can be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's illness could be due to a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be the cause of an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This can lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. These injuries can be caused by ailments like Erb's palsy, which occurs when the nerves that stimulate and control the infant's arms are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defect law firm defects will offer a free consultation to review your case, and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able help parents determine the root of the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and the factors that influence the pregnancy of a mother but they can also happen due to medications. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. When doctors fail to meet the standards of care required, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the risks associated with their drugs. Zofran, which is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for future and current medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical costs, as well as assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities as a result due to the negligence of corporations who expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth deformities. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the reason for the birth defects so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy growth of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are present in many different settings, including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies who were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have won significant settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals such as benzene, they should seek out an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment They could cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the term used to describe these substances. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals could be harmful to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects and other health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used to manufacture semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits in behalf of children suffering from various birth defects as a result of an unintentional exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complicated scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.