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 it could be devastating for you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly increase.
A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects can help to file a claim for compensation for the cost of caring for your children with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is crucial to seek legal advice whenever you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals must adhere to an appropriate standard of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor can be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defects lawsuits will help you determine whether your child's health issue was caused by a medical error during the pregnancy or delivery.
A doctor may also be responsible for an injury to the fetus if they fail in diagnosing or respond adequately to distress in the fetus. This can lead to various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy like cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, birth defect lawyers or labor. Injury can include Erb's Palsy which occurs when the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, a swelling on the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability, and continued treatment can cost a significant amount of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a free consultation to examine your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.
Prescription Drugs
A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the reason behind the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are due to genetics and other factors that occur during the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused as a result of medications. Many commonly used medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is particularly true in the first three months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects, and craniosynostois.
The duty of a doctor is to be aware of 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 can be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their products. For instance, 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 a pregnancy.
A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for future and current medical expenses resulting from the injury or disability, in addition to loss of earnings and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as assistive devices and therapies.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit for families of children who have congenital disabilities as a result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals and medications that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to identify the reason for the birth defect to bring a lawsuit against the companies who expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or birth defect lawyers at their homes.
Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defect attorneys defects. These chemicals are called teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or lead to organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, cleaning of metals and paint production.
Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include the aliphatic hydrocarbons like trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed while they were in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained substantial settlements on behalf families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.
Environmental Exposure
Some birth defects can be caused by an unintended medical error and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that a child's birth defects may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical or chemical substances, they should speak with an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.
Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause birth defect lawsuits defects of a serious nature if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the names given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water, and some of them can be harmful when they come into contact with pregnant women.
For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from contaminated coal can cause various birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects can also be related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers can increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.
LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers (mouse click the up coming document) have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits typically require an extensive scientific analysis as well as experts, such as toxicologists, epidemiologists, geneticists, embryologists and occupational medicine experts.