The birth of a child should be a happy occasion. However, when the baby is born with a serious birth defect or genetic disorder, it can be extremely overwhelming for the parents. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice attorneys understand that your love for your child has no bounds, but you also do not want your child to go through a life of hardship. If you feel that you were not given a full disclosure about your child’s detectable health condition during pregnancy, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm.A wrongful birth claim, also known as a wrongful life claim, is a type of medical malpractice claim that is made when a child is born with a birth defect, and the parents allege that the child would not have been born had it not been for the negligent advice or treatment of a medical professional. In essence, the parents often argue that if they had known that the child would be born with this condition or disorder, they would have chosen to terminate the pregnancy.
To establish such a claim, the plaintiffs must demonstrate that but for the medical professional’s breach of their duty to advise the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs would not have been required to assume the extraordinary obligations associated with raising the child because they would have had the opportunity to terminate the pregnancy. For example, certain types of defects, such as Tay-Sachs disease, sickle cell anemia, and Down’s syndrome, can be detected early in pregnancy and are examples of medical conditions that have been at the center of wrongful birth cases.