10 Meetups About Birth Defect Litigation You Should Attend

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 add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects can help to file a claim for reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and it is essential to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their infants. If the actions of a doctor are not in line with this standard and result in birth defects or injuries, they can be held accountable for the damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer who is experienced in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine if your child's health condition may be due to an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can lead to a range of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and 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 conditions such as Erb's palsy which develops when the nerves which energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or torn during the birth process as well as caput succedaneum which is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to examine your case and determine the most appropriate course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents identify the root of the birth injury or defect. Many birth defects result from birth defect law firm defects or genetics. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of common medications can have a significant impact on fetuses especially during the first trimester of a pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to take into account the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers about the risks of their medication. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea among cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect attorney can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of life. This could include hospital costs medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to discover the root of the birth defect in order to file a lawsuit against companies who expose mothers to teratogens when they are working or in their home.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function, or can cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals can be used in a variety of situations, such as semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause heart defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies that were involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects could be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes their child's birth defect may be a result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are present in our air, food and water and some can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects are also linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to 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 experienced birth defect attorneys - see here now - have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defects as a result of unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically involve complex scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.