New trends in obstetrical ultrasound malpractice litigation in Israel

"Wrongful Life" claims are legally valid under Israeli Law. An impaired child can bring an action under Israeli Law, against the doctors who by their alleged negligent conduct, allowed him to be born handicapped and therefore living a miserable life. Recently, we are facing new trends in "wrongful-life" suits in the field of obstetrical ultrasound. As a result, plaintiffs shifted to a different policy that was adopted by the Courts. Efforts are made to show and prove that in the course of the pregnancy there were features indicating the possibility of structural or physiological pathology. Further allegations are put forward to show that the entire management of a pregnancy failed as it ignored the clear signs of fetal pathology; and if the physicians (including gynecologists, ultrasonographers, nurses) would have been more alert and cautious, they would have interpreted these signs appropriately and as a result the pregnancy would have been classified as high risk pregnancy, with all its implications. Proper handling of these risk pregnancies would, as claimants alleged, prevent 'wrongful birth". The Israeli Courts, by their tendency to find a cause to concur with the plaintiffs, follow suit with the above described trends, and by following the Supreme Court decision in Zeitzoff they award compensation to the impaired plaintiff, for rest of his life. To illustrate the above, we present an Israeli District Court case known as Yeshayahu Netanel and others v K.H. Clalit and others.