Legal Definitions - wrongful-conception action

A wrongful-conception action is a legal claim brought by parents against a healthcare provider. This type of lawsuit arises when a child is conceived and subsequently born due to the healthcare provider's negligence, despite the parents' intention to prevent conception. The child born as a result of this negligence is typically healthy. In such cases, the parents seek damages for the financial and emotional burdens associated with raising an unplanned child, which they would not have incurred had the healthcare provider acted competently.

• Example 1: Failed Sterilization Procedure

  A married couple, having decided their family is complete, undergoes a vasectomy procedure performed by a surgeon. The surgeon assures them the procedure was successful and that they no longer need to use other forms of contraception. However, several months later, the wife becomes pregnant. Subsequent medical tests confirm that the vasectomy failed due to the surgeon's negligence, such as an incomplete procedure or inadequate post-operative instructions. The couple then files a wrongful-conception action to recover the unexpected costs associated with the pregnancy and raising the child.

  This example illustrates a wrongful-conception action because the conception occurred directly due to the healthcare provider's negligent performance of a procedure specifically intended to prevent conception, leading to the birth of an unplanned, but healthy, child.

• Example 2: Failed Abortion Procedure

  A woman, after careful consideration, decides to terminate her pregnancy and undergoes an abortion procedure at a medical clinic. Due to a medical error or an incomplete procedure performed by the clinic staff, the abortion is unsuccessful, and the pregnancy continues. The woman later discovers she is still pregnant and subsequently gives birth to a healthy child. She might then pursue a wrongful-conception action, arguing that the child's birth resulted from the clinic's negligence in failing to successfully complete the intended abortion.

  This situation demonstrates a wrongful-conception action because the child's birth resulted from the healthcare provider's negligence in failing to prevent the continuation of a pregnancy, which was the patient's explicit intention.

• Example 3: Negligent Misdiagnosis of Fertility

  A woman consults her gynecologist, expressing her strong desire to avoid pregnancy due to significant personal health risks. The doctor performs a series of tests and incorrectly informs her that she is infertile and cannot conceive naturally. Relying on this erroneous information, the woman stops using contraception and subsequently becomes pregnant. She later gives birth to a healthy child. She could file a wrongful-conception action, claiming that the doctor's negligent misdiagnosis and misinformation led directly to the unplanned conception and birth.

  This scenario exemplifies a wrongful-conception action as the unplanned conception and birth were a direct consequence of the healthcare provider's negligent misdiagnosis, which prevented the patient from taking appropriate steps to avoid pregnancy.