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A Florida jury earlier this week handed down a $4.5 million award to a family claiming "wrongful birth."
Parents Ana Mejia and Rodolfo Santana sued Dr. Marie Morel and OB/GYN and Perinatal Specialists of the Palm Beaches, complaining that the doctor and sonogram technician had failed to diagnose their son, Bryan Santana, for critical malformations during the ultrasound. Although both personnel gave the fetus a clean bill of health, Bryan was born three years ago with only one leg and no arms. The plaintiffs lament that had they been given better information, they might have made a more informed decision about whether to allow their child to go through the difficulty of life.
The award will go to Bryan's medical bills for prosthetics, a wheel chair, and medical and therapeutical care.
Wrongful birth is a controversial charge, and is accepted in only 25 states. New York generally avoids it, but an Appeals Court in New York elected to accept a case in 2004 on "wrongful life" (Mickens v. Lasala). Mother had given birth to a baby with Down's Syndrome in March 2000 and brought a negligence case also for post-sonogram misdiagnosis. The court, however, ruled against the plaintiffs because "wrongful life" does not carry a penalty, but damages could be recovered if the family could prove financial need, specifically extra-ordinary expenses in raising a child. In LaSala, they could not, so the family did not win anything.
Juries generally do not like these cases, especially when the child is healthy. There are many parents who are unable to have children and would not look favorably upon such a lawsuit.
(Special thanks to John Fisher -- thank you for bringing this to the office's attention.)
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with medical negligence like this every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help.
If you would like more information about how medical malpractice and accident cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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