Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with an anomaly in the ringwood birth defect Law firm this can be devastating for you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in woodland park birth defect attorney defects may be able to help you seek reimbursement for the expenses of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects may be complicated, and you should seek legal counsel whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and cause an injury or birth defect, they can be held accountable for injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits involving birth defects can help you determine whether your child's illness could be the result of a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be the cause of an injury to the fetus if they fail to recognize or adequately respond to distress of the fetus. This can lead to a range of serious issues, such as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.

The distinction between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up, while injuries are caused by something occurring during labor, pregnancy or birth. Injuries can include issues like Erb's syndrome, which occurs when the nerves which energize and control the arms of an infant are stretched or torn during the birth process and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will provide a free consultation 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 assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth injury. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during the pregnancy of a mother, they can also occur because of medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs as well as certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb deformities and brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

It is a doctor's professional duty to be aware of the potential risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they may be held liable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their products. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been shown to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect lawyer can help a family receive compensation for current and future medical expenses related to the disability or injury, and also loss of earnings and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, in addition to assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover the reason for the birth defect, so they can sue companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they work or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called teratogens due to their impact on the healthy growth of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or create malformed organs. These chemicals can be found in various settings, including manufacturing of semiconductors, Vimeo metal cleaning and paint production.

Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include the aliphatic hydrocarbons like dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been shown to cause birth defects, including cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers exposed to them during the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits in order to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers who live at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have won substantial settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by the combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are known as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals can be dangerous to pregnant women.

For instance, arsenic in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects, as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's risk of birth defects as well.

The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a wide range of birth defects caused by improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically require complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.