The 3 Greatest Moments In Birth Defect Litigation History

Penny 0 110 2024.06.07 03:47
Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child was born with a birth deformity it can have a devastating effect on the entire family. The cost of therapy, medical bills and other expenses can quickly increase.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer can help you file claim for compensation for the expenses of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects may be complex, so you should seek legal counsel as soon as possible.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must adhere to a set of standards when treating pregnant women or their infants. If the actions of a doctor fall below this standard and result in birth defect or injury the doctor could be held liable for birth defect lawsuits the harms suffered by their patient. A DC lawyer with experience in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine whether your child's condition may be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or the birth.

A doctor may also be accountable for an injury that occurs during birth if they fail to identify or properly respond to fetal distress. This could lead to numerous serious issues, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy 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 include issues like Erb's syndrome which is caused when the nerves that stimulate and control the arms of an infant are stretched or ruptured during birth and the caput succedaneum is a swelling of the scalp. Both of these can lead to lifelong disability and require ongoing treatment, resulting in large medical bills. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer will provide a no-cost initial consultation to examine your case and determine the best method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer might be able to assist parents identify the cause of the child's birth injury or defect. Many birth defect attorneys defects are caused by genetics or factors during pregnancy. However, medications can also cause birth defects. A number of commonly used medications have a significant effect on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. These include anti-nausea medications such as NSAIDs, chemotherapy medicines such as certain antibiotics and many more. These drugs have been linked to a higher chance of limb deformities, brain defects, heart defects and craniosynostois.

It is the responsibility of a doctor to take into consideration these risks when prescribing medicines for women who are pregnant. If doctors fail to adhere to this standard of care, then they could be held accountable for negligence. Pharmaceutical companies can be held liable as well for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their drugs. For example, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been proven to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancies.

A birth defect lawyer can help families get compensation for future and current medical expenses associated with the disability or injury, in addition to loss of income and quality of life. This can include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as assistive devices and treatments.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit on behalf of the families of children suffering from congenital disabilities that result from the negligence of businesses which expose pregnant women to chemicals or drugs that cause birth defects. These lawyers are specially-trained to determine the reason for birth defects so that they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose pregnant women to teratogens at work or at home.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides are among the chemicals that can cause birth defects. They are referred to as Teratogens as they interfere with the development of the fetus through making chemical changes that inhibit normal cell function or cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals can be present in a variety situations, such as processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

Other hazardous chemicals that could cause birth defects are aliphatic hydrocarbons with aliphatic chlorinated chemistry such as trichloroethylene, perchloroethylene and dichloroethane. These chemicals have been proven to cause birth defects, such as cardiac defects in babies born to mothers exposed to them while in the womb.

Parents have filed suit against a number of companies that were involved in exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of the birth defect lawyers have secured substantial settlements on behalf of families whose children were born with severe birth defects because of exposure to toxic chemicals at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Certain birth defects are caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors or chemicals. If a family suspects that the birth defects of a child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals such as benzene, they should seek out an DC birth injury lawyer to discuss their case.

Chemicals and other pollutants in the environment can cause serious birth defects when they are consumed or taken in by pregnant women. These substances are known as teratogens. More than 4 million chemicals are found in our food, air and water. Some of these chemicals may be harmful to pregnant women.

Arsenic from drinking water or cadmium in contaminated coal for instance, could cause birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents such as benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known for their ability to increase the chance of birth defects in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors display panels, silicon chip displays, and video displays.

Our experienced attorneys for birth defects have filed a variety of lawsuits on the name of children who suffered from various birth defects due to the wrongful exposure to chemicals or toxic substances at their workplace or home. These lawsuits usually involve a complicated scientific analysis and experts, such as toxicologists or epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine specialists and embryologists.

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