Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can have a devastating impact on you and your family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other losses can quickly accumulate.
A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help you seek compensation for the cost of taking care of your disabled children. A legal claim for birth defects can be complicated, and you should consult with a legal professional whenever 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 accountable for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who has experience in lawsuits involving birth defects will help you determine if your child's condition could have been caused by an error made by a doctor during the pregnancy or delivery.
A doctor could be liable for birth injuries if they fail to recognize or respond adequately to fetal distress. This can lead to a range of serious problems, including hypoxic ischemic disorder (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can result from ailments like Erb's palsy which is caused when the nerves that energize and control the arms of a newborn are stretched or damaged during birth, and caput succedaneum, a swelling of the scalp. Both of these conditions can cause permanent disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in significant medical bills. A Washington, DC lawyer who is specialized in birth defects will provide a no-cost consultation to look over your case and determine the best course of action for you and your baby.
Prescription Drugs
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birth defect attorney may be able to assist parents in determining the cause for the birth injury of a child. While many birth defects are caused by genetics and the factors that influence the mother's pregnancy however, they can also be caused due to medications. A number of commonly used medications have a profound effect on fetuses, especially in the first trimester of pregnancy. They include anti-nausea medicines such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines as well as certain antibiotics, and more. These drugs have been linked to an increased risk of limb defects and heart defects, brain deformities and craniosynostois.
It is the professional responsibility of doctors to consider these risks when prescribing medications for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to meet this standard of care, they may be liable for medical negligence. Pharmaceutical companies could be held accountable for not adequately warning mothers of the dangers associated with their medicines. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during first trimester pregnancies.
A birth defect attorney can assist a family in obtaining compensation for medical expenses, income loss and the quality of life. This can include doctor's, hospital or pharmaceutical costs, as well as aidive devices and treatments.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer may bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities resulting from the negligence of companies that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to identify the cause of the birth defect to bring a lawsuit against the companies that expose mothers to teratogens while they work or at their home.
Metals, fungicides herbicides and pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens as they interfere with the development of the fetus through making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or create organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are present in a variety settings, including the manufacturing of semiconductors and cleaning of metals.
Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects include aliphatic cyaninated hydrocarbons such as perchloroethylene (trichloroethylene), trichloroethylene ( dichloroethane. These chemicals have been known to cause birth problems, including cardiac disorders, in babies born to mothers who were exposed to them while in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits against various firms that were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have won substantial settlements for families who had children born with severe birth defects due to the toxic chemical exposures on the base.
Environmental Exposure
Some birth defects are caused by an unintended medical error and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be the result of medical negligence or prescription drug overdose or exposure to harmful chemical, they should consult 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. These chemicals are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are present in our food, air and water, and some of them are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.
For instance, arsenic in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause a variety of birth defects and other health problems. Industrial solvents like trichloroethylene, benzene, and toluene (a metal degreaser) are also linked with certain
birth defects. Glycol-ethers also increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.
LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed a variety of lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a wide range of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or at home. These lawsuits often involve sophisticated scientific analysis and expert witnesses, including toxicologists and epidemiologists, geneticists, occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.