Syracuse Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Wrongful birth actions can be extremely emotional and legally challenging. If you believe you have a wrongful birth case, you need to contact a seasoned Syracuse birth injury attorney who can investigate your situation. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our team is dedicated to protecting your rights at every step of the way. With years of experience, we know how to navigate these claims in a compassionate and diligent manner.
A wrongful birth case is an actionable tort in New York. This claim may arise if you have a child born with a birth defect that could have been detected early in the pregnancy, or that was a condition for which you should have been tested and of which you should have been informed before conception. Put another way, in a wrongful birth claim, parents claim that they would have avoided conception or terminated a pregnancy but for a medical professional’s negligence in prenatal testing, genetic prognosticating, or counseling on the chances of giving birth to a child with a birth defect.
Physicians are expected to provide competent care in both prenatal testing and during pregnancy. There are a number of circumstances that can lead to a wrongful birth. Types of diseases or conditions that are detectible include but are not limited to:
- Down syndrome;
- Sickle cell anemia;
- Spina bifida;
- Tay-sachs disease;
- Cystic fibrosis.
Physicians in New York and in every state have an obligation to adhere to minimum standards of care. This means that your doctor’s conduct must be consistent with another reasonably prudent doctor’s conduct in the same specialty under the same or similar circumstances. As a result, malpractice takes place when a doctor deviates from the minimum standard of care, thereby causing injuries. In New York, a medical professional is required to testify about the standard of care that was expected in the case.
In order to establish a wrongful birth, the plaintiff must show that the medical professional’s act or omission caused the birth of a child with a disability. It is not that the medical professional’s negligence led to the birth defect, only that he or she failed to detect it or to warn you about it. Consequently, the child was born with a defect.
Children born with serious birth defects necessitate costly medical treatment and, in some cases, permanent care. If malpractice is established in these cases, the plaintiff can typically recover medical expenses, pain and suffering, education costs, and any other expenses associated with raising and caring for a special needs child.
Irrespective of the circumstances, every expectant mother hopes to give birth to a healthy child. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. If your child was born with a birth defect that could have been identified either before conception or during pregnancy, you need to seek the help of a skilled Syracuse birth injury lawyer as soon as possible. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, you can rest assured that we understand how to protect your rights during this difficult time. For a free consultation, call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us online.
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