Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child is born with a birth deformity, it can have a devastating effect on your family and you. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly mount up.
A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could help you file claim for reimbursement for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated, so it is important to seek legal advice as soon as you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals must follow a standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. Doctors can be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine whether your child's health condition may be due to a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.
A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose fetal distress or are unable to respond in a timely manner. This can lead to a range of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. These injuries can be caused by conditions like Erb's Palsy, which occurs when the nerves that energize and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a lot of money. A Washington, DC lawyer who is an expert in birth defects may provide a free consultation to analyze your case and decide on the best course for you and your baby.
Prescription Drugs
A birth defect attorney (
J 2v's website) may be able to assist parents in determining the cause for a child's birth injury. While many
birth defect law firm defects are due to genetics and other factors that occur during the pregnancy of a mother however, they may also occur as a result of medications. A number of commonly used medications have a significant impact on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs and chemotherapy drugs are among the most frequently used. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostosis.
It is the responsibility of a doctor to take into consideration the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, they could be held liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their products. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea among cancer patients, has been found to increase the risk of major defects during the first trimester pregnancy.
A birth defect attorney can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, income loss and the quality of life. This can include hospital costs physician's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses along with assistive devices and therapy.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the root of the birth defect so that they can sue companies that expose mothers to teratogens when they work or in their homes.
Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as Teratogens since they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function or cause organs to be malformed. These chemicals are used in diverse settings like manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.
Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are the aliphatic hydrocarbons like dichloroethane or trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been known to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders in babies born to mothers exposed to them in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have obtained significant settlements for families whose children were born with severe defects because of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.
Environmental Exposure
Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. 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 or chemical substances, they should speak with an DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.
Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or absorbed by pregnant women. These substances are known as Teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water, and some of them could be harmful if they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.
Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium from coal that is contaminated for instance, can cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents like benzene toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also associated with certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers can increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used to make semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.
LK's experienced
birth defect attorneys have brought many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a wide range of birth defects resulting from wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.