$12
Medical Malpractice
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Case Details
We represented a couple who were looking forward to having their first child. When our client was in her 18th week of pregnancy, she went to her doctor’s office for a routine prenatal visit. It is the standard of care that at this stage of a woman’s pregnancy, her health care provider should offer her an Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) test. The AFP test may detect birth defects. Most women elect to have the test because it enables them to consider ending the pregnancy if their child has severe birth defects, or to better prepare for childbirth. Some women elect not to have the test. The health care provider should get the patient’s informed consent to have or not have the test. Informed consent is a duty imposed by law on health care providers, requiring them to inform a patient of the risks and benefits of a medical test or procedure, so that the patient can make an informed decision about whether or not to have it. During the critical office visit, our client was seen by a midwife, who did not inform our client about the AFP test nor offer it to her. The day after the office visit, a nurse from the doctor’s office called our client and offered her the AFP test. However, the nurse did not properly inform our client about the risks and benefits. Our client declined it. Our client gave birth to a baby with birth defects. We brought suit against the doctor’s office, claiming that the midwife had failed to properly inform our client about the risks and benefits of the AFP test and that our client’s decision not to have it was therefore not an informed one.