Why You Should Hire a birth defect (just click for source) Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth defect, it can have a devastating effect on you and your family. Medical bills, therapy costs and other losses can quickly mount up.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file an appeal to receive compensation for the expenses of taking care of your disabled child. Legal claims for birth defects are complicated, so it is important to seek legal advice whenever you can.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a certain standard when treating pregnant women or their infants. If a doctor's actions are in violation of this standard and cause birth defects or injuries the doctor could be held accountable for the damages sustained by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition may be due to an error in medical care during the pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be accountable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail in diagnosing or respond adequately to distress of the fetus. This could lead to a number serious problems including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and brain injuries like cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries differ from birth defects in the sense that they are caused by circumstances during pregnancy, delivery, or labor. Injuries can be caused by Erb's palsy which is a condition where the nerves that control the baby's arms and limbs are stretched or torn. Another type of injury is the caput succedaneum, a swelling on the scalp. Both can lead to a permanent disability and ongoing treatment will cost lots of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the best way to proceed for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect attorney may be able help parents determine the reason behind an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are due to the genetics of the mother's pregnancy, they can also occur as a result of medication. A number of common medications can have a negative impact on fetuses. This is especially applicable in the early months of pregnancy. Anti-nausea medicines, NSAIDs and chemotherapy medications are among the most common. These drugs have been linked with an increased chance of limb deformities, heart defects, brain defects and birth defect craniosynostois.

A doctor's duty is to consider the risks when prescribing medications for pregnant women. If doctors fail to follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharma companies may also be held responsible for not properly inform mothers of the risks associated with their medication. Zofran is a drug used to treat nausea in cancer patients, was shown to increase the risk of major defects in the first trimester pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can help a family get compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This could include hospital costs as well as doctor's fees, pharmaceutical costs and other expenses along with assistive devices and therapy.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can file a lawsuit on behalf families of children with congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses who expose pregnant women chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially trained to find out the cause of the birth defect so that they can sue companies which expose mothers to teratogens during the time they work or at their homes.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens since they affect the healthy development a fetus through chemical changes that lead to abnormal organs or hinder normal cell function. These chemicals are present in a variety environments, including metal cleaning and semiconductor manufacturing.

Other chemicals that can 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 during 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 defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements for families who have children who were born with severe defects resulting from the exposure to toxic chemicals on the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence as well as environmental conditions or chemicals. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child may be due to medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals and/or environmental factors, they should talk to a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other substances in the environment can cause serious birth defects if they are ingested or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are referred to as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals exist in our air, food and water and a few are harmful if they come into contact with pregnant women.

Arsenic found in drinking water or cadmium from coal that is contaminated, for example, can cause birth defect attorneys defects as well as other health problems. Certain birth defect law firm defects are related to industrial solvents, such as benzene (a metal degreaser), toluene (a solvent for plastics) and trichloroethylene. Glycol ethers, used in the manufacture of silicon chips, semiconductors and video displays are known to increase the risk of birth defects.

The experienced attorneys at LK's firm for birth defects have filed many lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from various birth defects due to wrongful toxic or chemical exposure at work or at home. These lawsuits often involve complex scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists or birth defect epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.