알마즌닷컴

Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect it could be devastating for the entire family. Therapy costs, medical bills and other expenses can quickly add up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can assist you in filing an appeal to receive reimbursement for the costs of caring for your child with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous, so it is important to seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals are required to adhere to a standard of care when treating pregnant women or their babies. Doctors can be held accountable for any damages when their actions cause birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition could be due to an error made by a doctor during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may be liable for an injury to the fetus if they fail to recognize or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This can lead to a range of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects because they are caused by events during pregnancy, birth, or labor. A possible injury is Erb's spalsy where the nerves that control the infant's limbs and arms are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is caput succedaneum which is an increase in the size of the scalp. Both of them can cause permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate course of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to assist parents determine the reason for a child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defects result from birth defects or genetics. However, medications can also cause birth defects. Many common medications have a profound effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, chemotherapy drugs, certain antibiotics, and more. These medications have been proven to increase the risk of limb and brain defects, heart defects, and craniosynostois.

The duty of a doctor is to take into account the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for negligence. Pharma companies can also be held accountable for not properly informing mothers of the risks associated with their medications. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during first trimester pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families receive reimbursement for future and ongoing medical expenses associated with the disability or injury, and also loss of earnings and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's pharmaceutical, and other expenses, as well aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer may bring an action on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to discover the reason for the birth defect law firms defect so that they can sue companies that expose mothers to teratogens as they are at work or in their home.

Some of the exposures to chemicals that lead to birth defects include herbicides, fungicides, metals and other pesticides. These chemicals are referred to as Teratogens as they interfere with the development of the fetus making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be found in a variety of locations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other harmful chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as perchloroethylene, trichloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects in the heart in babies born to mothers exposed while they were in the womb.

Parents have filed lawsuits against various companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defects lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families whose children were born with serious defects as a result of the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects may be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family believes the birth defect of their child could be the result of medical malpractice, prescription drug overdose or exposure to toxic chemicals, they should contact an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss the situation.

Chemicals and other toxins in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are inhaled or absorbed by pregnant women. These chemicals are called Teratogens. Over 4 million chemicals are present in our food, air and water and some can be harmful when they come into contact with a woman who is pregnant.

For instance, arsenic found in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated can cause numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Certain birth defects are also associated with industrial solvents like benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the risk of birth defects among women. These chemicals are used in the production of semiconductors, silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children suffering from a myriad of birth defects due to unintentional exposure to toxic chemicals and chemicals at work or at home. These lawsuits usually involve a an extensive scientific analysis as well as experts as witnesses, like toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.