Wrongful Birth Claims: Understanding Your Rights After Negligent Pregnancy Care.
What is a Wrongful Birth Claim?
A wrongful birth claim may arise when shortcomings in antenatal care prevent parents from receiving the necessary information to make fully informed decisions regarding their pregnancy and the birth of their child. Such claims typically occur when healthcare professionals fail to identify, investigate, or effectively communicate a foetal condition or risk which, had it been known, may have led the parents to choose to terminate the pregnancy.
These claims do not undermine the value of a child’s life. Instead, they focus on the additional financial responsibilities placed on families as a result of negligent care. Specifically, they address the additional costs involved in raising a child with disabilities where a pregnancy is continued that might otherwise not have been.
When can you make a Wrongful Birth Claim?
Wrongful birth claims can arise from a range of failures in pregnancy care, including:
1. Failure to identify foetal abnormalities
Healthcare professionals may fail to detect a foetal condition that should have been identified through routine antenatal screening or specialist testing. This may be due to:
- Incorrect interpretation of scan results
- Inadequate training
- Faulty or outdated scanning equipment
- Failure to offer appropriate diagnostic tests
Where conditions such as spina bifida, limb defects, congenital heart defects, or Down’s syndrome are missed, parents are denied the opportunity to consider all available options and make informed decisions about the pregnancy.
2. Failure to warn about infections during pregnancy
If a pregnant woman contracts an infection that carries a known risk of harm to the foetus, clinicians have a duty to explain the potential consequences. Where parents are not properly advised, and a child is born with disabilities as a result, a wrongful birth claim may arise if the parents would have chosen not to continue with the pregnancy had they been fully advised.
3. Failure to offer or correctly interpret genetic testing
Genetic testing and amniocentesis, should be offered when clinically appropriate and the results accurately interpreted and explained. Failures at this stage can deprive parents of vital information about their baby’s health and future needs.
4. Negligently performed sterilisation or failed contraception procedures
Wrongful birth claims may also arise following failed sterilisation procedures or other contraceptive interventions caused by medical error. In these cases, compensation may be available for the physical and emotional impact of pregnancy and childbirth, although not for the costs of raising a healthy child.
What compensation can cover in a Wrongful Birth claim
If a wrongful birth claim is successful, compensation may be awarded to help cover the additional, lifelong costs associated with raising a child with disabilities. This compensation can include the costs of specialist equipment, ongoing therapies and treatment, adaptations to the family home, additional care and support, and educational and developmental assistance.
The law does not permit recovery of the ordinary costs of raising an able-bodied child. However, it does recognise the considerable extra financial demands that can result from negligent care, leading to the birth of a child with disabilities.
How our Medical Negligence Team can help
Our Medical Negligence team is experienced in handling the sensitive nature of wrongful birth claims and understands the complexities involved in proving these cases. We take a compassionate and thorough approach, ensuring families receive clear guidance and support throughout the entire process of making a claim.
If you have been affected by failings in pregnancy care and would like to discuss a potential claim, please contact the Geldards Medical Negligence team. We are here to help you obtain the answers you need and the compensation to which you may be entitled.