Wrongful birth: clinical settings and legal implications

'Wrongful birth' is a term used in the English legal system when describing negligence claims for compensation brought against hospitals where it is argued on behalf of parents bringing the claim that with appropriate treatment their child should not have been born. This paper considers the basis for such claims and the difference between claims brought where there is a healthy child compared to one where the child is born with a disability. Claims arising from failed sterilisations are reviewed as well as those due to an alleged failure to detect fetal anomalies on routine ultrasound scanning. In regard to the latter we review the findings of a major report looking at such claims in England, and we consider practical learning and risk management points that can help to reduce the chances of litigation.