Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child is born with a birth deformity, it can be devastating for the entire family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly accumulate.
A Hyattsville lawyer who specializes in birth defects could help you claim reimbursement for the expenses of caring for your disabled children. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and it is essential to seek legal advice immediately.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals are required to follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. When a doctor's actions fall below this standard and cause birth defect or injury or injury, they could be held responsible for injuries suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in
birth defect lawsuits will help you determine if your child's illness could have been caused by an error in medical care during pregnancy or during delivery.
A doctor could also be held liable for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or don't respond appropriately. This can result in various serious problems, including hypoxic-ischemic neuropathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects in that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is caput succedaneum which is swelling of the scalp. Both of them can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in hefty medical costs. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can offer a no-cost initial consultation to analyze your case and determine the best course of action for you and your child.
Prescription Drugs
A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents identify the cause of the birth injury or defect. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications have a significant effect on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most commonly used. These drugs have been found to increase the risk of developing limb and heart defects, brain deformities, and craniosynostosis.
A doctor's responsibility is to be aware of these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not meet this standard of care they could be held liable for medical malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held accountable for not adequately informing mothers about the dangers associated with their medications. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been found to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancies.
A birth defect lawyer can assist family members receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses that result from the injury or disability, as well as loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital costs medical expenses, doctor's fees and pharmaceutical costs and other expenses as well as assistive devices and therapy.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of companies which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the reason for birth defects so they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or at home.
Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus by making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function, or can cause malformed organs. These chemicals can be used in a variety of settings, including semiconductor manufacturing and metal cleaning.
Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been found to cause
birth defects, such as cardiac defects, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them during the womb.
Parents have filed suit against a number of companies involved in the exposure of families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects due to the toxic chemical exposures on the base.
Environmental Exposure
Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a baby could be due to medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemicals or chemical substances, they should speak with a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.
If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the environment and then develop
birth defect law firms defects. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Certain of these chemicals could be dangerous to pregnant women.
For example, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium in coal that is contaminated may cause numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser) and toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers also increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.
The experienced birth defect attorneys at LK have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who have suffered from a variety of birth defects caused by the wrongful exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts and embryologists.