Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly increase.
A Hyattsville birth defect law firms defect lawyer can assist you in filing an action to collect reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals are required to adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their babies. A doctor could be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with 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 the birth.
A doctor could also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail detect fetal distress or don’t respond appropriately. This can cause a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. A possible injury is Erb’s spalsy where the nerves that control the infant’s arms and legs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to review your situation and determine the best method of action for you and your child.
Prescription Drugs
An attorney for birth defects may be able help parents determine the root of a child’s birth injury. While many birth defects are due to genetics and the factors that influence the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur as a result of medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications such as certain antibiotics and more. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of limb and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.
The duty of a doctor is to take into account these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet the requirements of this standard of care, birth defect attorneys they could be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers of the dangers that come with their medications. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in first trimester pregnancies.
A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for the future and present medical expenses related to the injury or disability, in addition to loss of earnings and the quality of life. This can include doctor’s, hospital or pharmaceutical expenses, as well assistive devices and treatments.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who have congenital disabilities because due to the negligence of corporations who expose pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the reason for the birth defects so that they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.
Some of the chemical exposures that can lead to birth defects are the fungicides, metals, herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are called Teratogens as they interfere with the healthy growth of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or create organs to be malformed. These chemicals are used in many different settings, including semiconductor manufacturing, metal cleaning and paint production.
Other chemicals that may cause birth defects are hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, or perchloroethylene. 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 against a variety of companies who were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won significant settlements for families who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.
Environmental Exposure
Certain birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemical. If a family is concerned that their child’s birth defect may be the result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the issue.
If pregnant women consume or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment and then develop birth defects. Teratogens are the name for these chemicals. Over 4 million chemicals are present in our air, food and water, Birth Defect Attorneys and some of them could be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.
Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium found in coal that has been 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 also increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.
LK’s experienced birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a range of birth defects resulting from the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or at home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.