Personal Injury Law

Baltimore Couple Files $20 Million Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Alleging Wrongful Birth

By Jack Lebowitz, Esq. and Vadim Mzhen, Esq.

Jessica Young and Antoine McLeod are accusing American Radiology Services, Dr. Karen Y. Perkins, and the Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. of Maryland medical malpractice. In their $20 million wrongful birth lawsuit, the Baltimore couple is claiming that a medical record mixup prevented them from receiving information about their baby?s birth defects that could have allowed them to decide whether they wanted to terminate the pregnancy.

Antonio Jesse McLeod was born prematurely last year with a number of birth defects, including a hole in his diaphragm. Also, his stomach was in his chest cavity.

According to the family?s medical malpractice complaint involving Maryland injuries to a minor, the abnormalities were visible in a sonogram performed by American Radiology Services months before the baby was born but that the radiology testing company sent the test results to the wrong doctor. Another Dr. Perkins and not the Dr. Perkins who was Young?s obstetrician received the results. Because of this mistake, Young's Dr. Karen Y. Perkins never saw the sonogram and thought the baby was healthy and the couple were never notified that their child was going to be born with any serious birth defects.

It wasn?t until just days before Antonio was born that a new sonogram showed there might be a problem. An ultrasound confirmed the birth defects. Antonio was born on July 18, 2009.

Following Antonio?s delivery, he was placed on a ventilator, suffered liver and kidney failure, and the hole in his diaphragm had to be repaired. The family?s Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer says that Antonio will likely require a ?lifetime of care? that could cost the family over $20 million. The Maryland injury lawyer contends that if the couple had known about their son?s birth defects, they could have made an informed decision over whether to continue with the pregnancy.

Maryland Wrongful Birth
Parents whose doctors failed to diagnose or warn that their unborn child may be suffering from a congenital or genetic disability may have grounds for filing a Maryland wrongful birth complaint if this negligent act deprived them of informed consent and the ability to choose whether or not to terminate the pregnancy. These parents can pursue financial compensation for the costs that come with caring for a child with serious disabilities.

Baltimore parents file $20M lawsuit for wrongful birth, Dolan Media Company, June 21, 2010

Full post as published by Maryland Accident Law Blog on July 06, 2010 (boomark / email).