Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer
If your child was born with an anomaly in the birth this can cause a huge impact on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly add up.
A Hyattsville lawyer that specializes in birth defects may be able to help to file a claim for compensation to cover the costs of caring for your children with disabilities. Legal claims for birth defects are a bit nebulous and therefore it is vital to seek legal advice whenever you can.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their babies. Doctors can be held accountable for any damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can determine the cause of your child's illness. caused by a medical mistake during pregnancy or delivery.
A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail to identify fetal distress, or don't respond appropriately. This can result in numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy as well as brain injuries like cerebral palsy.
The distinction between a birth defect and a birth injury is that defects are a part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are caused due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or the birth. These injuries can be caused by conditions like Erb's Palsy, which occurs when the nerves that power and control the infant's arms are stretched or damaged during birth as well as caput succedaneum which is a swelling of the scalp. Both can result in a permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC
birth defect attorney defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to examine your case and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.
Prescription Drugs
A birth defect lawyer could be able to help parents identify the cause of the birth injury or defect. While many birth defects are due to genetics and other factors that occur during a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen because of medications. Many common medications have a significant impact on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of pregnancy. Anti-nausea drugs, NSAIDs, and chemotherapy drugs are among the most popular. These drugs have been linked to a higher risk of deformities in the limbs and brain defects,
Defect heart defects and craniosynostosis.
It is the duty of a doctor to consider the potential risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors do not adhere to this standard of care, they may be held liable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for not properly warning mothers about the risks associated with their medicines. Zofran is a medication that is used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was found to increase the risk of major defects occurring in first-trimester pregnancies.
A birth defect lawyer can help families receive compensation for current and future medical expenses that result from the disability or injury in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This could include hospital expenses, doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs, and other expenses, as well assistive devices and therapy.
Chemical Exposure
A birth defect lawyer may file a lawsuit on behalf of families of children who suffer from congenital disabilities because due to the negligence of corporations exposing pregnant women to chemicals and other drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the root of birth defects, so that they can bring a case against companies who expose pregnant women to teratogens at workplace or at home.
Metals, fungicides and herbicides as well as pesticides are just a few of the chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as teratogens because they affect the healthy development of the fetus creating chemical changes that hinder normal cell function or lead to organs to be malformed. These chemicals are found in many different situations, such as metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.
Other chemicals that may cause birth defects include hydrocarbons with aliphatic properties, like trichloroethylene perchloroethylene or dichloroethane. These chemicals are known to cause cardiac birth defects in babies born to mothers who were exposed during their time in the womb.
Parents have filed lawsuits in order to make companies accountable for exposing families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, to harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families who had children born with severe birth defects due to the exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.
Environmental Exposure
Some birth defects can be caused by a combination between medical negligence and environmental conditions. If a family suspects the birth defects of a baby could 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 lawyer to discuss their case.
Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause birth defects of a serious nature when they are consumed by or taken in by pregnant women. Teratogens is the name given to these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our food, air and water Some of them could be harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.
For instance, arsenic found in drinking water and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause numerous birth defects and health issues. Certain birth defects are also caused by industrial solvents such as 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 to manufacture semiconductors display devices, silicon chip displays and video displays.
LK's experienced birth defect attorneys have filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a myriad of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits involve complex scientific analyses and expert witnesses like toxicologists and epidemiologists.