If your doctor failed to diagnose your child with cystic fibrosis prior to birth, you may have a right to financial recovery through a wrongful birth claim. Our experienced Rochester wrongful birth attorneys have a long history of advocating for victims of medical negligence and can apply our acumen to your case. We are dedicated to protecting the right of victims of birth defects in New York.
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder that causes life-threatening lung infections, difficulty breathing, digestive problems and finally death. The child is born mucus glands that are abnormally active and the high levels of mucus secretions lead to breathing difficulty and ultimately tissue and organ damage. In short, children born with cystic fibrosis typically live severely compromised lives and often pass away before reaching the age of 20. There is no cure for the condition, only treatment for the different symptoms that a patient may present. According to studies, nearly one out of every 2,000 infants born in the US or Western Europe tests positive for the condition.
Failure to Diagnose Cystic Fibrosis
Since this fatal pulmonary disease is inherited, it can be detected in the early stages of pregnancy via prenatal tests. Doctors have an obligation to conduct genetic testing and inform potential parents about their risk of having a baby with the condition as well as to inform a pregnant woman if her child has the condition. When parents learn that a fetus has cystic fibrosis, they can make an informed decision about whether to proceed with the pregnancy. Sadly, many parents do not find out their child has this devastating condition until after the child is born.
Dealing with the medical, financial and emotional consequences of having a child born with cystic fibrosis can be overwhelming. If your child was born with cystic fibrosis and you were not informed that your child would be born with the disease, you may have a wrongful birth case. Wrongful birth cases are a type of medical malpractice claim. In order to win these claims, the plaintiff has the burden of establishing the following elements: i) the doctor owed the patient a duty of care (i.e., an obligation to use the level of care that a reasonably competent OB-GYN in the same situation would have used); ii) the doctor violated this duty of care (i.e., the OB-GYN failed to offer genetic counselling or failed to diagnose the cystic fibrosis before birth); and iii) the doctor’s violation was a direct cause of the child being born with cystic fibrosis.
Seasoned Rochester Wrongful Birth Attorneys
If your child was born with cystic fibrosis and you believe that you have a wrongful birth lawsuit, you may be eligible for compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our hard-working Rochester OB-GYN malpractice attorneys will aggressively advocate for your rights every step of the way. We proudly serve New York clients in virtually all types of malpractice claims. For more information, please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us online.
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Postpartum Hemorrhage Malpractice in Rochester, New York, Rochester Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Blog, October 30, 2018
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