£1.8 Million compensation claim for misdiagnosis

Posted on August 11^th 2008

Doctors who misdiagnosed a genetic disorder in an unborn child have been forced to pay £1.8 million in compensation.

The parents of the unborn baby already had two children. When the wife became pregnant with the third child they decided to have tests done to see if their child have 'Fragile X Syndrome'. Their second child has 'Fragile X Syndrome'.

Fragile-X syndrome is an X-linked, semi-dominant disorder with reduced penetrance. In addition to being associated with characteristic physical and behavioural features, it causes intellectual disabilities ranging from mild to severe. It is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and is second only to Down's syndrome as the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability. This disease can affect both boys and girls although it is more common in boys and are more severally affected.

The Couple had the DNA testing after deciding that if their child were found to have the disease they would opt for a termination. However after having the tests the Dr's told the couple that although the mother was a carrier of the gene, the disease did not affect her child.

After the baby was born the parents found that their baby was slower to reach the usual developmental milestones. However, when he was four years old, his mother became concerned about his health and insisted on new tests.

The Genetic review showed that the boy did have Fragile X Syndrome. The mother was told that mistakes were made. It emerged they only tested one type to screen the foetus. They should have done the second type of diagnostic, as this would have proved conclusive.

The family was awarded 1.8 million in damages to help with the substantial cost of providing for their son's special needs.

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