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“Wrongful birth is that species of medical malpractice in which parents give birth to an impaired or deformed child and allege that negligent treatment or advice deprived them of the opportunity or knowledge to avoid conception or to terminate the pregnancy. See Black’s Law Dictionary 1612 (6th ed. 1990). The primary object of a wrongful birth claim is to recover damages for the extraordinary expense of caring for the impaired or deformed child, over and above routine rearing expenses.”

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“Wrongful birth is that species of medical malpractice in which parents give birth to an impaired or deformed child and allege that negligent treatment or advice deprived them of the opportunity or knowledge to avoid conception or to terminate the pregnancy. See Black’s Law Dictionary 1612 (6th ed. 1990). The primary object of a wrongful birth claim is to recover damages for the extraordinary expense of caring for the impaired or deformed child, over and above routine rearing expenses.”

Kush v. Lloyd, 616 So. 2d 415, 417 n.2 (Fla. 1992); see also Fassoulas v. Ramey, 450 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 1984).

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FLORIDA STATE COURTS

Supreme Court: Kush v. Lloyd, 616 So. 2d 415, 417 (Fla. 1992).

Second District: Torres v. Sarasota Cty. Pub. Hosp. Bd., 961 So. 2d 340, 345 n.5 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007).

Fourth District: OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches, P.A. v. Mejia, 134 So. 3d 1084, 1087 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

Fifth District: Dinatale v. Lieberman, 409 So. 2d 512, 513 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982); Moores v. Lucas, 405 So. 2d 1022, 1026 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).

FLORIDA FEDERAL COURTS

Middle District: Guenther v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., No. 6:08-cv-456-Orl-31DAB, 2013 WL 4456505, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 16, 2013).

FLORIDA STATUTES

766.102, Fla. Stat.

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2 Defenses to Claim for Wrongful Birth

(1) Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.110(d) (pleading affirmative defenses), and other standard defenses. See § 1.

(2) Statute of Limitations: § 95.11(5)(b), Fla. Stat. (two years from the accrual of the cause of action. Kush v. Lloyd, 616 So. 2d 415, 418 (Fla. 1992).

(3) Statute of Repose: § 95.11(5)(c), Fla. Stat. (four years from the date the negligent advice is given). Carr v. Broward Cty., 505 So. 2d 568, 569 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987).

(4) “The cost of raising a previously unwanted but healthy and normal child is not a recoverable element of damages in a wrongful birth case.” Health Tr. v. Brown, 388 So. 2d 1084, 1084 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).

(5) “The impact rule should not be applied to actions for wrongful birth where emotional damages are the ‘parasitic’ consequence of conduct that itself is a freestanding tort.” J. v. Humana of Fla., 652 So. 2d 360, 361 (Fla. 1995); see also Gracey v. Eaker, 837 So. 2d 348, 356 (Fla. 2002).

(6) “Ordinary rearing expenses for both a normal and defective child are not recoverable, and only the special expenses associated with raising a defective child to the age of majority are recoverable.” Fassoulas v. Ramey, 450 So. 2d 822, 822 (Fla. 1984).

(7) “Causation can be shown if the plaintiff can prove that she would have obtained an abortion if the doctor had not been negligent.” OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches, P.A. v. Mejia, 134 So. 3d 1084, 1087 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

(8) Wrongful birth is a subset of medical malpractice and can only be brought against a health care provider as defined by the Medical Malpractice Act. See § 766.102, Fla. Stat.; see also Shaffer v. Icely, 16 So. 3d 282, 283 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009).

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