Birth Defect Litigation Explained In Fewer Than 140 Characters

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth defect it could have a devastating effect on the entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville lawyer who is specialized in birth defects could assist you seek reimbursement for the expenses of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects can be complex, so you should seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. Doctors can be held liable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with expertise in lawsuits involving birth defects can determine if your child's condition was caused by a medical mistake during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor could also be accountable for an injury to the fetus if they fail to diagnose or appropriately respond to fetal distress. This can cause a number serious problems including 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. The causes of injuries include conditions such as Erb's palsy, which occurs when the nerves that power and control an infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth, and birth defect attorneys caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of 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 specialized in birth defects will offer a free consultation in order to look over your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents determine the cause of the birth defect law firm injury or defect. Many birth defects are caused by birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines including certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been linked to an increase in risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to consider the potential risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care they may be liable for medical malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers of the risks associated with their medicines. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been shown to significantly increase the risk of major congenital problems in the first trimester of a pregnancy.

An attorney who specializes in birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of living. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, as well as aidive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine what caused the birth defect, so they can sue companies who expose mothers to teratogens as they work or at their homes.

Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as Teratogens because they affect the healthy development a foetus by causing chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals are found in a variety of situations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed during their time in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies who were responsible for the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have won substantial settlements for families who have children who were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects are caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes that the birth defect in their child could result from medical negligence, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the matter.

If pregnant women inhale or absorb pollutants from the environment and then develop birth defects. These substances are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals are harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated for instance, could cause birth defects and other health problems. Certain birth defects can also be caused by industrial solvents such as benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers, which are employed in the manufacturing of semiconductors, silicon chips and video displays, are recognized to increase a woman's chances of having birth defects too.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects as a result of unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits usually involve a sophisticated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.