The United States’ laws requires that when patients consult a doctor, then the doctor has three primary obligations. First, the doctor has to decide whether to go ahead with the treatment. Secondly, the doctor must determine what treatment to give, and lastly, the doctor must provide care during treatment. A breach of any of these duties may lead to a cause of action for negligence and patients may recover damages from their doctors. Moreover, the medical code of ethics dictates that doctors or physicians must disclose all the necessary information to their patients unless the knowledge of the condition may cause psychological severe complication to the patient. In this case, the patient is you, Jill, and the defendant is the doctor. Therefore, legally, Jill may have a legal foundation to file a case against her doctor.
The main question here is whether Jill’s doctor owes “duty of care” and whether the doctor would breach his patients’ confidentiality by revealing to you the condition of your mother. However, according to the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Down’s Syndrome is not hereditary. Ethically, for a non-hereditary condition like Down’s, the doctor does not owe children or their patients’ duty of care. Therefore, the doctor had no responsibility whatsoever, to inform you of the condition of the fetus in your womb.
If Matt had suffered from genetic complications such as Huntington’s disease, then you would have a solid ground to stand on and ask for compensation. For example, in the case ABC v St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust and others (2017), where a patient’s daughter, Jane, filed a lawsuit against physicians for failing to inform her of her father’s Huntington condition, the court appealed that the plaintiff had reasonable grounds to seek compensation.
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Moreover, your complaint that Matt’s birth has caused both financial losses and emotional damages infer that the doctor would have terminated the pregnancy and that Matt does not have a right to live. According to the American College of Pediatricians, life begins at conception. And therefore, your claim of financial losses and emotional damage diminishes the meaning of the life of Matt. Thus, in your case, I would recommend that you withdraw the lawsuit.
There are high chances that the courts will not allow the case to continue. Ethically, it would be wrong for any doctor to reveal information of their patients, even to relatives as it would violate the medical ethical code of ethics that require health practitioners to safeguard their client’s privacy. However, in some cases, the court gives cases a green light, especially those dealing with a hereditary disease such as coeliac disease, cancers, Marfan syndrome, coagulopathies, Huntington’s disease, thalassemia and familial polyposis.
The doctors usually have three options when it comes to hereditary diseases. The first option is to do nothing. The only patient that a doctor has to take care of is one who is in front of him or her. Secondly, the doctor can ask the patient to inform their relatives about their conditions. Lastly, the doctor can give a written note to patients advising them to inform their relatives. In your case, Down’s Syndrome that Matt suffered from is not hereditary. Therefore, there is not legal or ethical ground that can make this case go forward.
