Birth Defect Litigation Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect this can be devastating for you and your entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can quickly accumulate.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file claim for compensation for the expenses of caring for your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, which is why you should seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow a set of guidelines when treating pregnant women and their infants. Doctors can be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defect law firms defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects can help determine the cause of your child's illness. caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor can also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or don't respond appropriately. This could lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic makeup and injuries are triggered by an event that occurs during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. The causes of injuries include conditions like Erb's Palsy, which occurs when the nerves that power and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or torn during birth and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of these could cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the most appropriate way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer could be able to assist parents identify the cause of a child's birth injury, or defect. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy but they can also happen because of medications. Many common medications have a profound effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most commonly used. These medications have been linked to an increased risk of deformities in the limbs and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medicines for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to the requirements of this standard of care, they could be held accountable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not adequately informing mothers of the risks of their medication. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of major congenital defects in the first trimester of pregnancy.

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

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 companies who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the cause of birth defects so that they can file a lawsuit against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are some of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens due to their impact on the growth of the fetus producing chemical changes that block normal cell function, or can cause malformed organs. These chemicals are present in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.

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

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies that were involved in 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 who had their children born with severe birth defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defect lawsuits defects can be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemical, they should consult an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are inhaled or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals may be dangerous to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water as well as cadmium derived from coal that has been contaminated can trigger numerous birth defects and health problems. Certain birth defects can also be linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) as well as toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers can increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a range of birth defects due to wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at work or in their homes. These lawsuits usually involve a complicated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.