Down's Syndrome Claims Lawyers

Serving New Jersey and the Philadelphia metropolitan area

Very few things in life are more painful than learning that a pregnancy will result or has resulted in the birth of a child with special physical or mental challenges. Such conditions can place a serious strain — both emotionally and financially — on the entire family.

Modern day obstetrics is constantly improving its ability to detect major birth defects during pregnancy — often fairly early in pregnancy.

The use of amniocentesis to identify Down's Syndrome in a fetus has been available since the 1970's. Amniocentesis is not without risk, and it has therefore been only recommended as a screening tool for women at high risk of bearing children with the condition (typically age 35 or greater).

The last 15 years have resulted in a dramatic increase in the ability of physicians to screen for Down's Syndrome (Trisomy 21). Some specific testing that has led the way is a simple and widely used maternal blood test called the "triple screen". This test identifies most but not all cases of Down's Syndrome. Another method is the universal offering of a "comprehensive ultrasound" during the second trimester which specifically looks for signs of abnormalities in the major organs, spine and brain.

These tests are routinely given at a stage in pregnancy when parents can then make a meaningful choice about whether to continue the pregnancy. However, sometimes negligence by medical personnel in the ordering or interpretation of these tests, or in the communication of the test results, result in parents not learning of the problem until after it is too late to consider terminating the pregnancy.

The decision to continue or terminate such pregnancies is an intensely personal one that remains a woman's constitutional right. The New Jersey Supreme Court has determined that if parents are deprived of the opportunity to make this decision because of a doctor's negligence, the parents are entitled to recover for emotional and financial damages.

The parents who we have represented in cases like these love the involved child as dearly as any other — perhaps even more so. They are faced with a lifetime of extraordinary financial burden in trying to secure needed medical care. They worry about what might become of the child in their eventual absence. We're pleased that we have been able to secure needed financial help for these families.

Michael L. Weiss, Esq. recovered 1.65 million dollars on behalf of a family with a Down's Syndrome child and has handled many cases involving the failure to detect birth defects during pregnancy.