Birth Defect Litigation Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can have a devastating effect on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could help you claim compensation to cover the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor can be held liable for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's illness could be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could be liable for birth injuries if they fail in diagnosing or appropriately respond to distress in the fetus. This can result in various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

birth defect attorney injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. These injuries can be caused by issues like Erb's syndrome which develops when the nerves that power and control the arms of an infant are stretched or damaged during birth and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in large medical expenses. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can provide a free consultation to review your case, and determine the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents determine the root of a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are due to genetics and factors during the pregnancy of a mother however, they can also be caused due to medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and more. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

A doctor's job is to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they may be held liable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the risks associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancies.

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

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to find out the reason for the birth defect in order to bring a lawsuit against the companies that expose mothers to teratogens while they work or at their homes.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. They are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy growth of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals are found in many different settings, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to expose companies to liability for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who have children who were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

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

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or absorbed by pregnant women. Teratogens are the name for these substances. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and some are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents like benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are well-known to increase the risk of birth defects too.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or in their homes. These lawsuits require complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.