As we reported last December, botched genetic testing is becoming a concern in the medical community when dealing with newborns. 
According to the Seattle Times, a Washington jury awarded a couple $50 million after its son was born with profound mental and physical disabilities after two providers mishandled a genetic test.
The Times reported that Brock and Rhea Wuth were told they had a 50-50 chance of having a child with a defect or a related translocation, so they sought out genetic testing before the child’s birth. After which, their son, Oliver, born in July 2008, was deemed normal. However, after the child was born, the family found out he had genetic defects, which led to disabilities.
In a lawsuit, the family said that Valley Medical Center in Renton and Laboratory Corporation of America (LabCorp), based in North Carolina botched a prenatal test prior to Oliver’s birth.
According to court documents, the couple claimed that Valley failed to order additional testing showing chromosomal abnormalities by failing to send information to the lab, and that the lab failed to follow up with the hospital.
According to their lawsuit, the couple said that had they known about the defect, they would have ended the pregnancy. Oliver now has an IQ of 50 to 70, cannot run, walk up stairs or talk beyond a few dozen words understandable to his parents, according to the Times.
His parents said that he will need medical care for the rest of his life and he requires special education.
My Healthcare Provider Botched a Genetic Test
An error by a healthcare provider following a genetic test is not the only thing parents need to worry about; last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that of the nearly 3 million genetic screening tests performed on newborns each year, an estimated 160,000 from 31 states arrived late to testing facilities.
The paper reported that this occurred for a variety of reasons, including holiday closures, U.S. Postal Service mistakes and failed state-run oversight programs.
Delays or mistakes in genetic testing can result in a child being born with issues like brain damage or other disorders, which can affect their well-being for life. It can also result in a failure to detect disorders that could kill a child, especially if those disorders require special diets.
If your child has experienced issues because of a genetic testing error, we can help. For more information, contact our birth injury attorneys. To schedule a free, confidential consultation with one of our attorneys, call our firm at 1 (800) 460-0606.
[Did You Know: Conditions like phenylketonuria (PKU) can be discovered through newborn genetic testing.]
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – Birth Injury Attorneys
Source: http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2022438460_geneticverdictxml.html
