Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth it could cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects could help to file a claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects could be complicated, which is why you should seek legal counsel whenever 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 do not meet the standards and result in birth defect or injury, they can be held accountable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's health condition may be due to an error made by a doctor during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be the cause of a birth injury when they fail to recognize or properly respond to distress of the fetus. This can lead to many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth defect law firm injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered due to something happening during pregnancy, labor, or during delivery. The causes of injuries include ailments like Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves which energize and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or damaged during birth and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who specializes in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to examine your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to help parents determine the root of a child's birth defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and other factors that occur during a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen due to medications. A variety of common medications can have a significant effect on fetuses, Vimeo.com especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These drugs have been linked to a higher chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and craniosynostois.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to be aware of the potential risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not properly inform mothers of the risks associated with their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.

An attorney who specializes in birth defects can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities because due to the negligence of corporations that expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the cause of birth defects so they can file a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens because they influence the healthy development of a the fetus via chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in a variety of locations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defect law firm defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, shinhwaspodium.com or perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been shown 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 make companies accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families who have children who were born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from their environment they could develop serious birth defects. Teratogens are the names given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic from drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that is contaminated may cause a variety of birth defects and health issues. Industrial solvents, such as benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, which are utilized in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed numerous lawsuits in behalf of children who suffered from a variety of birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits are based on complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.