The Limoges University Hospital is ordered to compensate two parents. A miscalculation led them to believe that their child did not have Down’s syndrome. Wrongly.
It took almost seven years, but Celine got justice. The administrative court of Limoges (Haute-Vienne) ordered the city’s university hospital to pay compensation to this young mother and her companion. In 2010, she gave birth to a little girl with Down’s syndrome. But she only found out after the birth because of a misdiagnosis during the prenatal period.
The court’s verdict is final: the Limoges University Hospital did not leave the mother the possibility of terminating her pregnancy or of preparing for the arrival of a sick baby. He therefore recognizes the institution’s responsibility for this incident. In 2010,
Céline was referred to the hospital after a prenatal blood test. The results indicate a risk of Down’s syndrome of the fetus. They must be confirmed by amniocentesis.
A poorly performed calculation
This examination consists of taking the amniotic fluid in order to carry out an analysis of the chromosomes of the fetus. If an abnormality is detected, it is possible for the mother to choose a medical termination of pregnancy. The majority of women make this decision. But Céline did not have this possibility. Before performing amniocentesis, the hospital doctor calculates the risk by measuring the nuchal translucency. The thicker it is, the greater the risk of abnormalities. But the practitioner believes that the risk is eliminated. He dissuades the patient from continuing the act. Except that he made a manifest error in his calculation.
It is therefore only after childbirth that the young mother learns of the disease from which her child is suffering. However, as experts have shown, the probability that she has terminated her pregnancy is 95 to 99%. She will therefore receive 50,000 euros in compensation and the father 30,000 euros. The court, however, refused to include compensation for the elders of the siblings.
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