Darby Moffit спросил 5 месяцев назад
Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly add up.
A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an appeal to receive compensation for the expenses of caring for your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects can be a little tangled and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice as soon as you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. A doctor 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 help determine if your child’s condition was caused by a medical error during pregnancy or delivery.
A doctor could be liable for birth injuries if they fail to diagnose or properly respond to distress in the fetus. This can lead to a range of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.
The difference between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person’s genetic makeup, while injuries are caused by something that happens during pregnancy, labor, or the birth. Injuries can result from conditions like Erb’s Palsy that occurs when the nerves that energize and control an infant’s arms are stretched or ruptured during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, which can result in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is skilled in birth defects can offer a free consultation in order to look over your case and determine the most appropriate course for you and your baby.
Prescription Drugs
A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents identify the root of a child’s birth injury, or defect. Many birth defects are caused by genes or other factors that occur during pregnancy. However, certain medications can also cause birth defects. Certain common medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is particularly evident in the initial three months of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been linked to an increase in risk of limb deformities and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.
The duty of a doctor is to consider these risks when prescribing medication for women who are pregnant. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they may be held liable for negligence. Pharma companies can also be held responsible for not properly informing mothers about the dangers associated with their medications. Zofran is a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in first-trimester pregnancies.
An attorney who specializes in birth defects can assist a family to obtain compensation for medical expenses, income loss and quality of life. This could include doctor’s, hospital prescription, pharmaceutical, and other costs, as well as assistive devices and therapies.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer can bring an action on behalf of families of children with congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to identify the cause of birth defects so they can bring a case against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.
Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include the use of fungicides and metals as well as herbicides and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens since they affect the healthy development a embryo through chemical changes that can cause abnormal organs or prevent normal cell function. These chemicals can be used in a variety of locations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.
Other chemicals that can cause birth defects are hydrocarbons that are aliphatic, such as trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers exposed in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits to expose companies to liability for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who have children who were born with severe defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.
Environmental Exposure
Certain birth defects can be caused by an unintended medical error as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. 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 such as benzene, they should seek out a 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 taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens is the name given to these substances. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our air, food and water. Some of these chemicals can be harmful to pregnant women.
Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal, for example, can cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Industrial solvents like trichloroethylene, toluene, and benzene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol ethers, employed in the manufacturing of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays, are known to increase a woman’s risk of developing birth defects as well.
LK’s highly experienced birth defect lawyers have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a variety of birth defects resulting from improper exposure to chemicals and toxic substances at work or in their homes. These lawsuits often involve complicated scientific analysis and experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.