Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child was born with a birth defect it could have a devastating impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can quickly accumulate.
A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing claim for compensation for the costs of taking care of your disabled child. A legal claim for birth defects may be complex, so you should consult with a legal professional 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 could be held responsible for damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in lawsuits for birth defects can help you determine if your child’s health condition may have been caused by a medical error during pregnancy or the birth.
A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail diagnose fetal distress or fail to respond appropriately. This can lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and hypoxic encephalopathy such as cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, birth, or labor. Injuries can result from ailments like Erb’s palsy which is caused 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 ongoing treatment can cost a significant amount of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to review your case and determine the most appropriate option for you and your child.
Prescription Drugs
An attorney for birth defects may be able to help parents determine the root cause of an infant’s birth injury. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A variety of common medications can have a significant impact on fetuses especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostois.
A doctor’s duty is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their medicines. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancies.
A birth defect attorney can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and the quality of life. This could include doctor’s, hospital 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 who suffer from 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 identify the cause of birth defects, so that they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens either at work or in their home.
Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are known as teratogens, because they can affect the development of a healthy the fetus via chemical changes that cause abnormal organs or block normal cell function. These chemicals can be found in a variety of settings including manufacturing of semiconductors, metal cleaning and paint production.
Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include hydrocarbons with aliphatic properties, like dichloroethane and trichloroethylene perchloroethylene. These chemicals have been found to cause birth problems, including cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits to ensure that companies are held accountable for the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina exposed to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have gotten significant settlements for families who had their children born with severe defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.
Environmental Exposure
Some birth defect lawsuit defects can be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug abuse or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.
Chemicals and other contaminants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water Some of them could be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.
Arsenic in drinking waters or cadmium found in coal that has been contaminated, for example, can cause birth defects as well as other health issues. Certain birth defects are also linked to industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the risk of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.
LK’s experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children who suffer from a myriad of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.