Birth Defect Litigation: A Simple Definition

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated and it is essential 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 can be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's illness could be the result of an error made by the medical professional during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be held accountable for birth injuries if they fail identify fetal distress, or do not respond appropriately. This can result in many serious problems like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery or labor. Injuries can include conditions such as Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves that power and control an infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth as well as caput succedaneum which is a swelling of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability, and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your situation and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might help parents determine the reason behind an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are the result of the genetics of a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medication. Certain commonly used medications can have a negative impact on the fetuses. This is especially true in the first three months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These medications have been linked with an increased risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers of the risks of their medication. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of congenital defects that are major in the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for future and current medical expenses associated with the injury or disability, in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital costs medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs and other costs, as well as assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of parents of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that can cause birth defect lawsuit defects. They are trained to find out the cause of the birth defect to sue companies that expose mothers to teratogens while they are at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defect law firm defects. They are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the growth of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs that are malformed. These chemicals can be present in a variety settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against several companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families who had children born with severe birth defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child could be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical or chemical substances, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb contaminants from the surrounding environment and then develop birth defects. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium in coal that has been contaminated for instance, may cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects can also be caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers that are used in the production of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are recognized to increase a woman's risk of developing birth defects as well.

LK's highly experienced birth Defect lawsuit defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a variety of birth defects caused by improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits usually involve a sophisticated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.