Chicago Wrongful Birth Lawyers

Parents depend on doctors, nurses, obstetricians, genetic counselors, radiologists, ultrasound technicians, laboratories, and hospitals for accurate information during pregnancy. That information can affect medical care, delivery planning, family decisions, financial preparation, and the future care a child may need. When a healthcare provider fails to order proper tests, misreads results, delays a diagnosis, or fails to communicate serious prenatal findings, the family may lose the opportunity to make informed decisions.

A wrongful birth claim is different from a typical delivery injury claim. In many birth injury lawsuits, the allegation is that negligence during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or newborn care caused an injury. In a wrongful birth claim, the child’s condition may not have been caused by the doctor. Instead, the case may focus on whether negligent prenatal care, genetic counseling, testing, imaging, or communication deprived the parents of important medical information before birth.

At Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC, our Chicago wrongful birth lawyers help families investigate whether medical negligence affected their ability to understand serious fetal conditions, genetic risks, congenital abnormalities, or life-long medical needs. Call (312) 243-9922 for a free consultation.

What Is a Wrongful Birth Claim?

A wrongful birth claim is a type of medical malpractice case brought by parents who allege that negligent medical care deprived them of the chance to make informed pregnancy decisions. These cases often involve missed prenatal findings, inaccurate genetic counseling, delayed test results, misread imaging, or failure to explain the seriousness of a fetal condition.

The claim does not mean that the parents love their child less. It also does not mean that the child’s life lacks value. A wrongful birth case focuses on the medical provider’s responsibility to give parents timely and accurate information. Parents have the right to make informed decisions based on reliable medical facts, not incomplete records, missed test results, or negligent counseling.

How Wrongful Birth Differs from Other Birth Injury Cases

Many birth injury cases involve injuries caused by negligent prenatal care, labor management, delivery decisions, or newborn treatment. Examples may include oxygen deprivation, traumatic delivery, delayed C-section, improper use of delivery tools, or failure to monitor fetal distress.

A wrongful birth case is different. The medical negligence may involve failure to detect or communicate a condition that already existed or developed during pregnancy. The legal issue is often whether the parents would have made different decisions if they had received accurate information in time.

Wrongful birth

Wrongful birth usually refers to a claim brought by parents. The parents allege that negligent prenatal testing, diagnosis, counseling, or communication prevented them from making informed decisions about pregnancy, delivery planning, and the future care of a child with serious medical needs.

Wrongful life

Wrongful life is a separate type of claim that may be brought on behalf of a child in some jurisdictions. These claims are treated differently and are often limited or unavailable depending on state law. Parents should not assume that all similar claims are treated the same way.

Wrongful pregnancy or wrongful conception

Wrongful pregnancy or wrongful conception may involve a failed sterilization procedure, failed contraception, or negligent reproductive care that results in an unintended pregnancy. Those claims are different from a wrongful birth claim based on missed fetal information.

Medical Errors That May Lead to a Wrongful Birth Lawsuit

Wrongful birth cases usually require careful review of prenatal records, genetic counseling notes, ultrasound reports, lab results, referral records, and communications between providers and parents. A single missed finding can matter, but many cases involve multiple failures over time.

Potential medical errors may include:

• Failure to offer appropriate prenatal screening or diagnostic testing
• Failure to explain available genetic testing options
• Failure to refer parents to a genetic counselor or maternal-fetal medicine specialist
• Failure to identify abnormal ultrasound findings
• Failure to follow up on abnormal bloodwork, NIPT, CVS, amniocentesis, or other testing
• Failure to communicate a known fetal abnormality
• Failure to investigate family history or known genetic risk factors
• Failure to properly document counseling, risks, or test results
• Misreading imaging studies, lab reports, or fetal anatomy scans
• Delaying diagnosis until parents no longer have meaningful options

Prenatal Testing, Genetic Counseling, and Diagnostic Mistakes

Modern prenatal care may involve blood testing, ultrasound, noninvasive prenatal screening, chorionic villus sampling, amniocentesis, fetal echocardiography, genetic counseling, and other evaluations. These tools can help identify chromosomal conditions, structural abnormalities, inherited disorders, congenital heart defects, neural tube defects, and other serious medical concerns.

But prenatal testing can be complicated. Screening tests may estimate risk, while diagnostic tests may confirm whether a condition is present. Parents need accurate explanations of what each test can show, what it cannot show, what a positive or abnormal result means, and what follow-up is recommended. A provider who fails to explain those limits may contribute to a serious failure to diagnose claim.

Ultrasound and Radiology Errors in Wrongful Birth Cases

Ultrasound exams and fetal imaging can play a central role in prenatal diagnosis. A radiologist, obstetrician, sonographer, or maternal-fetal medicine specialist may be expected to identify findings that suggest serious fetal abnormalities. A missed structural defect, abnormal measurement, fluid abnormality, or organ abnormality may delay diagnosis and prevent timely counseling.

Wrongful birth cases may overlap with radiology error claims when imaging was misread, incomplete, poorly documented, or not communicated to the parents and treating physicians. These cases often require expert review by specialists who understand prenatal imaging and fetal development.

Conditions Often Involved in Wrongful Birth Claims

Wrongful birth claims can involve many different fetal or genetic conditions. The issue is usually not whether the provider caused the condition. Instead, the question is whether the provider should have detected, investigated, explained, or communicated the condition earlier.

Examples may include:

• Chromosomal abnormalities
• Congenital heart defects
• Neural tube defects
• Brain malformations
• Genetic syndromes
• Severe developmental disorders
• Serious organ abnormalities
• Conditions requiring lifelong medical care
• Conditions associated with pregnancy complications or delivery planning

Some cases may also involve injuries or complications discussed on pages about infant brain damage, cerebral palsy, or umbilical cord complications. Each case must be evaluated on its own medical facts.

What Must Be Proven in a Wrongful Birth Case?

A wrongful birth case usually requires proof of medical negligence, causation, and damages. The exact issues depend on the facts, the providers involved, the timing of the mistake, and Illinois law.

The provider owed a duty of care

The case must involve a doctor, hospital, genetic counselor, radiologist, laboratory, clinic, or other healthcare provider who owed the parents or patient a professional duty of care.

The provider breached the standard of care

The parents must show that the provider failed to act as a reasonably careful medical professional would have acted under similar circumstances. This may involve failure to test, failure to refer, failure to interpret results correctly, or failure to communicate.

The failure caused loss of informed choice

Parents must generally show that the negligence deprived them of meaningful medical information and that accurate information would have affected their decisions. Timing is often critical. A late diagnosis may be very different from a diagnosis made early enough for counseling and planning.

The family suffered legally recognized damages

Damages may include extraordinary medical expenses, specialized care, therapy, equipment, educational needs, and other costs related to the child’s serious condition. The available damages depend on Illinois law and the specific facts of the case.

Illinois Wrongful Birth Claims and Medical Malpractice Requirements

Illinois has recognized wrongful birth claims in certain circumstances, but these cases are legally sensitive and fact-specific. They are also medical malpractice cases, which means they may require expert review before filing. Illinois law generally requires a medical malpractice plaintiff to file an affidavit and written healthcare professional report showing that there is a reasonable and meritorious basis for the lawsuit.

Illinois also has strict deadlines for medical malpractice claims. The deadline may depend on when the injury or claim was discovered, when the alleged negligent act occurred, whether the claim belongs to a parent or a child, and whether any exception applies. Because wrongful birth cases often involve prenatal decisions, timing issues can be especially important.

Evidence Our Lawyers Review in Wrongful Birth Cases

A strong wrongful birth investigation usually requires a detailed timeline. Our legal team may review prenatal visits, test orders, lab reports, ultrasound images, fetal anatomy scans, genetic counseling notes, referral records, hospital policies, communication logs, and post-birth records.

Important evidence may include:

• OB/GYN prenatal records
• Maternal-fetal medicine records
• Genetic counseling records
• Ultrasound reports and images
• NIPT, CVS, amniocentesis, and other test results
• Laboratory reports
• Fetal echocardiogram records
• Referral and consultation notes
• Patient portal messages and phone logs
• Delivery and newborn records
• Specialist records after birth
• Records showing future medical, therapy, and care needs

Damages in a Wrongful Birth Case

Wrongful birth damages can be complex. The claim may involve the extraordinary costs of caring for a child with serious medical needs. These costs can extend far beyond ordinary parenting expenses and may continue for years or for life.

Potential damages may include:

• Specialized medical care
• Therapy and rehabilitation
• Medication and medical equipment
• Home modifications
• Special education needs
• Assistive devices and mobility equipment
• In-home nursing or caregiving support
• Future medical monitoring
• Extraordinary care expenses
• Emotional distress damages when allowed by law

Some conditions may also involve long-term disability or catastrophic injury issues. A complete damages analysis may require medical experts, life-care planners, economists, and other specialists.

What Parents Should Do If They Suspect Wrongful Birth Malpractice

Parents often begin with uncertainty. They may not know whether a doctor missed a warning sign, whether a genetic counselor explained testing correctly, or whether an ultrasound should have revealed a serious condition. The best first step is to preserve information and avoid delay.

• Request complete prenatal, delivery, and newborn medical records.
• Ask for copies of ultrasound images, not just written summaries.
• Save genetic testing results, lab reports, and counseling materials.
• Preserve patient portal messages, emails, and voicemail records.
• Write down the dates of important conversations with providers.
• Keep records of the child’s diagnosis, treatment, therapy, and care needs.
• Speak with an attorney before signing releases or giving statements to an insurer.

Why Choose Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC?

Wrongful birth cases require medical knowledge, sensitivity, legal experience, and careful investigation. Families need lawyers who understand that these claims are not about blaming a child or devaluing a life. They are about holding negligent medical providers accountable when they fail to give parents the information they needed during pregnancy.

Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC represents patients and families in serious medical malpractice and birth injury cases throughout Chicago and Illinois. We investigate records, consult qualified experts, evaluate damages, and explain legal options in a clear and compassionate way.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wrongful Birth Claims

Is wrongful birth the same as a birth injury?

No. A birth injury claim often alleges that negligence caused an injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or newborn care. A wrongful birth claim usually alleges that negligent testing, diagnosis, counseling, or communication deprived parents of the chance to make informed pregnancy decisions.

Does a wrongful birth claim mean the parents do not love their child?

No. These cases should never be understood that way. A wrongful birth claim focuses on the provider’s failure to give accurate medical information. Parents can deeply love their child while also seeking accountability for negligence that caused extraordinary financial, medical, and emotional consequences.

Can missed prenatal testing lead to a wrongful birth lawsuit?

Yes, in some cases. A claim may arise when a provider failed to offer appropriate testing, misinterpreted results, failed to communicate abnormal findings, or failed to refer the parents for genetic counseling or specialist evaluation.

Are wrongful birth cases difficult to prove?

Yes. These cases are often complex because they require proof of medical negligence, causation, timing, informed decision-making, and damages. Expert review is usually essential.

How soon should parents contact a lawyer?

Parents should seek legal advice as soon as they suspect that important prenatal information was missed, delayed, or withheld. Medical malpractice deadlines can be strict, and expert review takes time.

Call Our Chicago Wrongful Birth Lawyers

If your family believes that medical providers failed to diagnose, explain, or communicate serious prenatal information, Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC can help you understand your options. These cases are sensitive, but families deserve truthful answers and careful legal guidance.

Contact our Chicago wrongful birth lawyers today or call (312) 243-9922 for a free consultation. We charge no attorney fees unless we are successful in recovering compensation for you.