Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

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

A Hyattsville lawyer with a specialization in birth defects could help you seek compensation for the costs of caring for your children with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complex and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice as soon as you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their babies. When a doctor's actions fall below this standard and result in birth defect or injury the doctor could be held responsible for damage suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's illness could be the result of an error made by the medical professional during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be the cause of birth injuries if they fail to identify or properly respond to fetal distress. This could lead to a variety of serious issues, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy.

The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up however, injuries are caused by an event that occurs during pregnancy, labor, or birth. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another injury is caput succedaneum - an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can result in permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the root cause of a child's birth defect. Many birth defects result from birth 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. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy medications are among the most frequently used. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of developing limb and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

A doctor's responsibility is to consider 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 malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers of the dangers that come with their products. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can assist a family receive compensation for future and current medical expenses associated with the disability or injury, as well as loss of earnings and quality of life. This could include hospital fees medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs and other costs, as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer could sue parents of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of companies that 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 case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus through creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function, or can cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of situations, such as the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are hydrocarbons with aliphatic properties, Vimeo like trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten substantial settlements on behalf families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or Vimeo chemical. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be a result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb pollutants from the environment they could develop serious birth defects. These substances are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and a few can be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, which are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays are known to increase the chances of having birth defects too.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits in the name of children who suffered from a variety of westmont birth defect attorney defects due to an unintentional exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses such as toxicologists and epidemiologists.