Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Attorney
Finding out that your child has an issue with their birth can transform the joy of parenthood into a harrowing experience. Most birth defects require lifelong medical care, which can lead to staggering financial costs.
A New York birth defects attorney can determine if the condition of your child is due to medical malpractice or toxic chemicals or drugs.
Causes of Birth Defects
If your child suffers an abnormality in the birth process that could have been avoided by an medical professional, you must contact an Long Island birth defects attorney as soon as possible. A reputable lawyer can take care of the previous steps swiftly and efficiently, ensuring you can have the time to grieve for your family member.
Birth defects are structural or functional changes to the body of a fetus that can affect almost every body part. They can cause physical issues or developmental disabilities, intellectual and physical including difficulty learning or communicating or difficulty in activities such as walking or taking care of oneself.
Certain birth defects can be detected before the baby is delivered by using special tests. These include analyzing cells in blood samples or examining a sample of amniotic liquid or the placenta. Doctors can diagnose birth defects using ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging.
Certain birth defects may be caused by genetic factors such as the chromosomes in a fetus's body and genes. These defects can be passed down by the parents or caused through mutations that occur in the DNA of the fetus at conception. A few of the more common birth defects that are genetic in nature include spina bifida, trisomy 21 and Tay Sachs disease. Many other birth defects that are genetic have no known cause at all.
Medical Malpractice
If you or your child suffered an injury to their body due to a mistake by a doctor or another health care professional, you could have a claim based on medical malpractice. This could be due to the failure to diagnose, such as the doctor does not consider your symptoms seriously, gives an incorrect diagnosis, fails to initiate the proper treatment or fails to follow up with test results. It can also include errors in the administration of medication, for example, the wrong diagnosis of anesthesia, giving too much medication or the wrong type of medications, and surgical mistakes.
Finding an attorney who has experience in malpractice suits can be difficult. But you can request recommendations from family members and acquaintances, as well as attorneys in other areas. Additionally, you can contact your state bar association. The majority of bar associations offer search and referral services to help you locate an experienced medical negligence lawyer.
Chemical Exposure
Sometimes,
birth defect attorneys problems are caused by exposure to dangerous chemicals that affect the mother or the fetus. A lot of these chemicals can be present in the workplace where they are used to create products like plastics paint, batteries, and ceramic glazes. These chemicals are consumed by inhalation or ingestion through the skin. Certain of these chemicals have been proven to increase the risk of a birth defect in a child, such as spina bifida, or other mental and physical conditions.
These teratogen chemical agents can be found in prescription drugs that were not prescribed by doctors, in chemicals used in the workplace such as those used in semiconductor "clean room" environments, or in toxic substances that can pollute the air and water in communities. The Thornton Law Firm represents many parents whose babies were born with a grave birth defects because their mothers were exposed to pesticides, coal ash, and glycol-ethers during their work.
Contact an experienced New York birth injury lawyer for a free consultation today should you suspect that your child's birth defects were caused by medical negligence, toxic exposure or dangerous drug during pregnancy. These claims are subject to strict deadlines and are time-sensitive. An experienced attorney can determine if the child is able to file claims, and if it is appropriate to file the claim through an agreement with a court or a settlement.
Product Liability
Many birth defects are caused by an improper prescription or exposure to chemicals. If parents believe that the child's health condition is due to negligence on the part of a doctor or dangerous drugs they should consult an attorney who deals with birth defects immediately. These cases can be extremely complicated and extremely time-sensitive.
Medical malpractice claims are often caused by environmental factors that cause birth defects, like prescriptions that are not followed or inadequate care during pregnancy. Families should seek legal advice as soon as they can since the statute of limitation for medical malpractice claims is only one year.
Birth defect lawsuits involving medications can also be filed in cases where the doctor acted negligently when prescribing medications to the mother, for example, not understanding the way in which a certain drug could interact with other medications she may be taking or by not properly advising her of the side effects. A Maryland medication birth defects attorney can help clients obtain damages if a doctor causes a birth defect or injury through negligence.
A family with newborns with a major birth defect could face huge expenses, such as the cost of surgery, therapy and ongoing treatment throughout their child's life. A
birth defect lawyer who is well-informed and experienced can help parents determine if the medical condition of the child was caused by negligence at the hands of a doctor, a hazardous drug or toxic exposure.