The Birth Defect Litigation Success Story You ll Never Believe

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could help you seek compensation for the costs of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, and you should seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their infants. If the actions of a doctor are not in line with this standard and cause birth defects or injuries and/or death, they may be held responsible for harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition may be due to an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or during delivery.

A doctor can also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose fetal distress or don't respond appropriately. This could lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic makeup and 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 power and control an infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both can lead to a lifelong disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to review your situation and determine the best option for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

An attorney for birth defects may be able help parents determine the cause for a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are caused by the genetics of a mother's pregnancy, they can also occur as a result of medications. A variety of common medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is especially relevant in the first three months of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines and NSAIDs as well as chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and more. These medications have been linked to an increase in risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medicines for pregnant women. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers about the dangers associated with their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for future and current medical expenses resulting from the disability or injury and also loss of earnings and the quality of life. This could include doctor's, hospital pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to find out the cause of the Birth Defect Lawsuit defect so that they can bring a lawsuit against companies which expose mothers to teratogens while they are working or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they interfere with the normal development of a embryo through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are found in a variety of environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects include hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders, in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits to hold companies accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements on behalf of families who had their children born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

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

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment, they can cause serious birth defects. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals are present in our food, air and water, and some of them are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated may cause numerous birth defects and health problems. Certain birth defects can also be related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are utilized in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are known to increase a woman's risk of birth defects.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a variety of birth defects resulting from wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.