Failure to Detect Birth Defects
Ohio Wrongful Birth Attorneys
Caring for a child with profound disabilities or genetic birth defects is a huge burden. It's a burden that some parents would not knowingly take on. Parents also feel enormous remorse when they learn that their baby will suffer a painful existence or likely die an early death.
If medical professionals failed to detect severe birth defects, or gave bad counsel about the chances of a birth anomaly, the parents may have grounds for a wrongful birth lawsuit.
Becker & Mishkind Co., L.P.A. has experience in wrongful birth litigation, as well as wrongful life actions brought on behalf of a disabled person. Call our Cleveland, Ohio, law firm at 1-800-826-2433 to discuss your legal options, which vary according the statutes in different states. We have represented clients throughout Ohio, and served as co-counsel in cases in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Wrongful Birth
Genetic screening during pregnancy will normally reveal whether the fetus has Down syndrome, Trisomy 22, Fragile X Syndrome and other genetic and chromosomal disorders. Genetic counseling prior to birth can also determine if either parent carries the defective genes, and the probability that a child would be born with that condition. Other tests in the first trimester, including ultrasound diagnostics and amniocentesis, may reveal non-genetic birth defects such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder or mental retardation.
• Would you have terminated the pregnancy? It's a difficult decision involving moral and religious beliefs, as well as considerations about other family members, financial capacity and a heavy lifelong commitment. The question seems moot, because you were never given the opportunity to make that decision. That option was not available because of the negligence of a physician, radiologist or lab technician. However, in a wrongful birth lawsuit, you typically must assert that (a) you would have terminated the pregnancy had you known of the defect, or (b) that you would have elected not to get pregnant had you received competent genetic counseling.
A wrongful birth lawsuit may also arise from a failed sterilization procedure (vasectomy, tubal ligation), or failed abortion procedure.
Wrongful Life
Some states allow lawsuits for "wrongful life," brought on behalf of the disabled child to assert, essentially, that the parents and society should not have to pay for massive monthly expenses for a severely handicapped child. The suit may name the medical providers for their malpractice. The complex legal, medical and ethical issues require representation by an attorney experienced in these cases.
Contact Becker & Mishkind today to discuss your case in a free initial consultation. We will explain the law as it applies in your state and your legal options.
