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11 "Faux Pas" That Are Actually Okay To Do With Your Birth Defect Litigation
Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Lawyer

If your child is born with a birth deformity it can have a devastating effect on your family as well as you. Medical bills, therapy costs and other expenses can add up quickly.

A Hyattsville birth defect lawyer could assist you in filing an action to collect compensation for the costs of taking care of your child with disabilities. A legal claim for birth defects could be complex, so you should seek legal advice immediately.

Medical Malpractice

Medical professionals must follow the highest standards of care when treating pregnant women and their babies. A doctor can be held responsible for damages if their actions result in birth defects or injuries. A DC lawyer who is experienced in birth defect lawsuits can help you determine if your child's condition may be the result of an error in medical care during pregnancy or delivery.

A doctor may also be held responsible for birth injuries if they fail recognize fetal distress and do not respond appropriately. This can cause a number of serious issues, including hypoxic ischemic brain injury (HIE) and brain injuries such as cerebral palsy.

The difference between birth defects and birth injury is that defects are part of a person's genetic make-up and injuries are triggered due to something happening during labor, pregnancy, or the birth. These injuries can be caused by conditions like Erb's Palsy that occurs when the nerves that energize and control an infant's arms are stretched or ruptured during birth, and caput succedaneum, an increase in the size of the scalp. Both can result in permanent disability, and continued treatment will cost a great deal of money. A Washington, DC birth defect lawyer can provide a free initial consultation to look over your case and determine the most appropriate method of action for you and your child.

Prescription Drugs

A birth defect lawyer may be able to help parents determine the cause for an infant's birth injury. While many birth defects are the result of genetics and other factors that occur during a mother's pregnancy but they can also happen as a result of medications. Certain common medications have a significant impact on fetuses, particularly in the first trimester of a pregnancy. This includes anti-nausea medication, NSAIDs, chemotherapy medications, certain antibiotics, and many more. These drugs have been shown to increase the risk of developing limb and brain deformities, heart defects and craniosynostois.


It is the duty of a doctor to be aware of the risks when prescribing medication for pregnant women. If doctors do not follow this standard of care, they could be held accountable for malpractice. Pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable for failing to adequately warn mothers of the dangers associated with their drugs. For instance, Zofran, a medication used to treat nausea in cancer patients, has been demonstrated to significantly increase the risk of serious congenital defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.

A birth defect attorney can assist families in getting compensation for medical expenses, loss of income and quality of living. This could include hospital, doctor's or pharmaceutical expenses, as well as aidive devices and therapies.

Chemical Exposure

A birth defect lawyer can bring a lawsuit for families of children with congenital disabilities as a result of the negligence of businesses that expose pregnant women to chemicals and drugs that cause birth defects. They are trained to determine the cause of the birth defect, so they can file a lawsuit against companies that expose mothers to teratogens while they are working or in their homes.

Metals, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides are a few chemicals that can cause birth defects. These chemicals are called Teratogens as they interfere with the healthy development of the fetus by causing chemical changes that prevent normal cell function, or can cause organs that are not properly formed. These chemicals are found in many different environments, including processing of semiconductors and metal cleaning.

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

birth defect lawyer deerfield beach have filed lawsuits against a variety of companies who were responsible for exposing the families of soldiers at Camp Lejeune to these harmful chemicals. Some of these birth defect lawyers have secured significant settlements for families that had children born with serious defects as a result of the toxic chemical exposures at the base.

Environmental Exposure

Some birth defects can be caused by a combination of medical negligence and environmental factors. If a family suspects the birth defects of a child could be the result of medical negligence, prescription drug overdose, or exposure to harmful chemicals, they should consult a DC birth injury attorney to discuss their case.

If pregnant women ingest or absorb contaminants from the environment, they can cause serious birth defects. Teratogens are the term used to describe these chemicals. More than 4 million chemicals can be found in our food, air and water. Certain of these chemicals may be dangerous to pregnant women.

For example, arsenic in drinking water, and cadmium from coal that is contaminated may cause numerous birth defects as well as other health problems. Industrial solvents like benzene, toluene and trichloroethylene (a metal degreaser) are also linked to certain birth defects. Glycol-ethers are also known to increase the likelihood of birth defects occurring in women. These chemicals are used for the manufacture of semiconductors as well as silicon chip displays and video displays.

LK's highly experienced birth defect lawyers have brought numerous lawsuits on behalf of children who suffered from a range of birth defects as a result of wrongful toxic and chemical exposure at workplaces or in their homes. These lawsuits typically involve an extensive scientific analysis as well as expert witnesses, including toxicologists as well as epidemiologists, geneticists occupational medicine experts, and embryologists.