Court Rejects Case of Negligence by Disabled Children against the Doctors

In Australia the High Court dismissed the cases from two severely disabled children. These cases were mainly raised to claim compensation. Both the children were born after negligent medical advice. One such is that of Alexia Harriton, 25 who is deaf, blind and mentally disabled. She said that her family doctor had not informed her mother about the rubella infection early in her mother's pregnancy. Another case is that of a five-year-old Keeden Waller who was born with brain damage and is currently suffering from cerebral palsy after IVF.

His parents say that they were not informed about the risks and if they were told so then they would have deferred IVF or terminated the pregnancy. But the High Court dismissed each appeal stating that the appellant did not have a case for negligence against their mothers' doctors. The court compared an existing life with that of a non-existing life. Justice Susan Crennan said that one cannot prove the actual loss. But Justice Michael Kirby said that this wrongful life was mainly due to the negligence who would not otherwise have existed if the parents were informed. The lawyer for Ms Harriton, Kathryn Booth, of Maurice Blackburn Cashman, said that the purpose of this case was to make claims for damages so that the child could live a comfortable life.