Why You Should Hire a Birth Defect Attorney

Learning your child has a birth defect can change the joy of being a parent into a frightening experience. Most birth defects require lifelong medical care, which can result in staggering financial costs.

A New York birth defects attorney can determine if your child's problem is due to medical malpractice or toxic chemicals or drugs.

Causes of Birth Defects

If your child is suffering from an abnormality in the birth process that could have been cured by an medical professional, you should consult a Long Island birth defects attorney as soon as possible. A reputable lawyer can handle the preceding steps quickly and efficiently, ensuring that you can grieve for your family member.

Birth defects are structural or functional changes to the body of a fetus that can affect almost any part of the human body. They can cause physical ailments or developmental disabilities, intellectual and physical including difficulty communicating or learning, or difficulties with physical activities such as walking or taking care of oneself.

Some birth defects can be detected before the baby is born using special tests, for example, analysing cells in a blood sample or by examining samples of amniotic fluid or the placenta. Doctors are increasingly able to diagnose birth defects through ultrasound fetal and magnetic resonance imaging.

Some birth defects can be caused by genetic causes, such as the chromosomes in a fetus's body and genes. These defects can be passed down from parents or they could be caused by mutations in the fetus's DNA that occurred during conception. A few of the more common genetic birth defects include trisomy 21, spina bifida and Tay-Sachs disease. Many other genetic birth defects are not known to have a cause at all.

Medical Malpractice

You could be able to file a claim against a doctor for medical malpractice if you or your child was injured as a result of a mistake made by a health care professional. This could mean that they failed to diagnose or treat, such as doctors not taking your symptoms seriously or giving a wrong diagnosis and not initiating the appropriate treatment or not following up on test results and medication mistakes (e.g., anesthesia mistakes such as prescribing excessive or the wrong medication) and surgical errors (e.g., a surgeon leaving a retractor blade inside the patient during surgery).

Finding a lawyer who has expertise in malpractice cases could be a difficult task. You can ask family members, friends and lawyers in other areas for recommendations. You can also reach out to your state bar. Most bar associations have search/referral tools to help you locate an experienced medical malpractice lawyer.

Chemical Exposure

Sometimes, birth defects are caused by exposure to harmful chemicals that affect the mother or fetus. A lot of these chemicals can be found in the workplace where they are used in the production of products like plastics paints, batteries, and ceramic glazes. These chemicals are ingested through inhalation, ingestion or simply absorbed through the skin. Certain of these toxins are known to increase the risk for the development of birth defects, such as spina-bifida, or other mental and physical ailments.

These teratogen chemicals can be found in drugs that doctors have not properly prescribed, in chemicals used at work such as those in semiconductor "clean rooms" or in toxic chemicals that contaminate air and water. The Thornton Law Firm has represented parents whose children were born with serious birth defects after the mothers were exposed to glycol ethers as well as pesticides and coal ash at their workplace.

Contact an experienced New York birth injury lawyer to set up a free consultation If you believe that your child's birth defects were caused by medical negligence, hazardous drug or exposure to toxic substances during pregnancy. These claims are subject to strict deadlines and are time-sensitive. An expert attorney can help determine if your child is eligible to file a claim, and if it is appropriate to file the claim through a court proceeding or a settlement agreement.

Product Liability

Many birth defects could be the result of an improper prescription or exposure to chemicals. Parents are advised to contact an attorney for birth defects immediately if they believe that their child's illness was due to medical negligence or the use of dangerous drugs. These cases can be extremely complicated and urgent.

Medical malpractice claims are usually caused by environmental factors that can cause birth defects, such as improperly prescribed medications or drugs or inadequate care during pregnancy. Families should seek legal assistance immediately, as the statute of limitations on a medical malpractice claim is only one year.

A lawsuit for a medication birth defect can also be filed when the doctor was negligent when prescribing a medication to the mother. For example when a doctor was not aware of the interactions of a medication with other medications that the woman could be taking, or failed to inform her about its potential side effects. A Maryland lawyer for birth defects in medication can help clients recover damages when a physician is negligent and causes a birth injury or birth defect.

A family with a newborn with a serious birth defect could face huge expenses, including therapies, surgeries and treatment for the rest of the child's life. A birth defect lawyer who is well-informed and experienced can help parents determine whether the medical condition of their child is due to medical negligence, a dangerous drug or toxic exposure.