View Full Forums : Gynecologist may have to support disabled baby


Tudamorf
07-12-2006, 04:46 PM
Not because he fathered it, but because he failed to warn the mother of the risk of Downs syndrome so that she might consider abortion.

I wish <i>our</i> legal system were this sensible.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060712/ap_on_he_me/doctor_disabled_baby_1VIENNA, Austria - The Austrian Supreme Court has ordered a lower tribunal to consider whether a gynecologist accused of failing to give complete information about a high-risk pregnancy should pay child support after his patient gave birth to a disabled child.

Supreme Court official Ronald Rohrer said justices had ruled that if the Salzburg Provincial Court determined that the mother would have undergone an abortion had she known all the details, the doctor must financially support the girl — now 9 years old — possibly for life.

Fyyr Lu'Storm
07-12-2006, 05:42 PM
While the genetic makeup of the child is definately because of and caused by the mother, I do think that punishments like this are definately more responsible, though(or especially) individualized, than HUGE tort settlements.

I wonder how that would affect other health care workers, though.

I have experienced and witnessed a few times where a non-doctor does a procedure or knows something is bad with a patient and must say "You need to talk to the doctor about this(or the results of this)". And to see that the doctor does a poor job(or non job) of explaining the situation or the results poorly to the patient or family.

The matter of fact, practical, and honest/forthcoming doctors are my favorites by far. Even when there may be presently a degree of error in the honesty. That is to say, that some doctors will not discuss something with a patient because they don't want to be shown to be wrong later.

Anyway, overall, considering this case, I like the solution. If this were in America, the cost of supporting the kid would be about the cost of the increase of his malpractice insurance. He should have shown the mother the results of the tests showing that she was carrying a mongoloid.

Tudamorf
07-13-2006, 02:20 AM
I like the solution.My point exactly. The person sued was actually the responsible party, and the compensation was a fair estimate of the real damages. The total opposite of the result you normally see in the U.S.