Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Syndrome

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/03/portland_couple_sues_legacy_he.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ter-born-Down-syndrome.html?ito=feeds-newsxml


Should the hospital be responsible? Or should the Parents take responsibility?

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Can you say "Money-grubbing whores"? It's fucking pathetic. I saw this the other day and was absolutely disgusted. It's nature.... it's science.... Anyone with any sort of intelligence knows nothing is EVER 100%.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

This is what's wrong with a litigious society. It puts too many private things out in the open for people to pass judgement. Personally, this particular suit is hard to swallow, but I can see where they're coming from. They were an older couple in terms of child bearing years. They went through a test to cover themselves and it came out in their favor. The result was counter to the test, and there's evidence that the test was done incorrectly. Assuming this is true, there's clear evidence of negligence. We let people sue for negligence of less significance all the time without batting an eye. Yet, here, people are up in their face because it has to deal with a child. If they were suing just because their child has down syndrome without any evidence of negligence it would be pretty despicable, but because society has made suing for negligence commonplace, I see little problem with the suit from their perspective. For me, I'd never sue, partly because I could never claim I was harmed because my wife and I would not have aborted even if the test had indicated that the baby would have down syndrome. So as long as people are ok with abortions because of birth defects (which apparently at least 80% of expecting parents are - a staggering number to me), then IMO people should be allowed to sue in situations like this. I personally don't agree with it, but society seems not to have much problem with placing blame on someone else for, as BLAZINGGIANTS said, "nature" or "science" in other instances, then why not here?

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

What a couple of fucking assholes. They would have aborted their kid if they knew it were to have Down Syndrome? What if they knew the kid were to come out ugly, would they have aborted it too?

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

No shit. Messed up. What if their parents had aborted them? Two less greedy ruh-tards, and one less lawsuit.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

For the record, it's not like this situation is the one where I draw the line, and say our society is overly litigious and lawsuit-happy. There are far lesser instances people file suit over, and I completely disagree with those two. In my family alone, we've had 2-3 instances where we've had lawyers come to us and say they will represent us in a lawsuit, and presented similar cases, and it's probable we would have won. We chose not to file suit. We've had at least one instance where we consulted an attorney, had a high probability of winning, and decided against filing a suit. I don't want to cross that line - I don't want to be one of those people.

As for the subjects in the OHSU lawsuit.... they need to understand that a life is a precious gift. Appreciate what you've been given and know that you have been blessed, regardless of the hardship they feel they have been given. Yes, this child will perhaps cost more over a lifetime, but, IMO, they're putting their child out there and basically saying that their child is less.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

I agree with you, but I was addressing Hailblazer's question. Assuming the facts are as they claim, they have a legitimate claim. I completely disagree with the premise of the suit, but I think society has made these kinds of "blame everyone but yourself" or "don't take responsibility for your actions" situations effective for big payouts. At least there's more at stake here than your normal frivolous lawsuit. I also agree that life is a blessing. My wife and I have been trying to have a child for about 4 years. We'd gladly take a Down Syndrome child over no child. So I completely disagree with the suit on a personal level, but think they're well within their rights from a legal standpoint, at least the way American society has decided to conduct tort law.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Oh, I totally agree, and I understand the atmosphere our legal system has provided. But as a person of integrity, this just does not sit well with me at all. No matter how much I try to rationalize it and pick it apart, it's absolutely greedy and horrific, and speaks ill of our society.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Nice. Putting a price tag on your kid.

Ghouls.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Yeah... I guess they're fortunate that the child might not ever fully understand what douchebags his parents are.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

I'm betting if they do win that money, it wouldn't be used to take care of their "problem", but probably to put new granite countertops in their "perfect" mcmansion.

just look the type.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

That's an interesting point, and if I were in a position to decide the case, this would have just won in favor of the defense. If you're willing to abort a fetus, why wouldn't you just give up your child after the birth? They could have chosen to do that. After all instances of teenage girls dumping their children, most states (including Oregon) allow you to give your child up at various "safe houses" or locations, no questions asked. They chose to make the child a potential meal ticket.

So I stand by my first assertion of the couple: money-grubbing whores!

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Interesting case. I know both attorneys and they are excellent and well known in the community. One I have had (and do) a few cases against.

In reviewing the article, the plaintiff's theory is clearly weak. However, dead and illness related baby cases have been the rage for years. Very few actually have negligence but jury sympathy in liberal venues (like Portland) is so overwhelming that juries routinely deliver multi million verdicts because their sympathy overrides the facts of the case. I think it's fair to agree with BLAZINGGIANTS that it's a money grab (legal extortion). And I have no doubt they will win in The People's Republic of Multnomah County. very difficult for a defendant to get a remotely fair trial here.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Maybe things have changed in 7 years (my youngest turns 7 tomorrow!), but when both of our girls were screened in utero, I distinctly remember the Kaiser Permanente OB/GYN telling us that no test is 100% certain, and it's really about assessing the odds at that point, and the baby could still have Down's. If the test comes up positive, even then it's not certain your going to give birth to a child with Down's, either. A test is just a test, even if it's a CVS.

A feel bad for the kid, though. They probably won't know it, but the mom and dad are going to live knowing they would have rather aborted her.

"See, we have really smart kids, and then we got saddled with this little retard." What horrible people they must be.

My oldest is at the 99.7% level on those TAG tests, and my first-grader is just a slightly above-average student. Big deal. Fucking TAG parents are the worst. I'm on a the district Facebook page for Tigard-Tualatin TAG, and it's just one douchey parent after another writing multiple-paragraph posts about whatever it is we're supposed to be outraged about on that day.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Totally agree that they will probably win in Multnomah County. Just sickening, though. I wouldn't be surprised if they were handed more money than they were asking for just for S&G's.

BTW... BP, I had no idea you were an attorney. Not that it matters, but I didn't realize. Having worked in public accounting for a decade, and very closely with lawyers, for whatever reason it's long been a habit to pay attention to these details.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Anyone adopting a Down's kid will need lots of money from the government (that's how Michelle Bachmann supported herself), so no one will adopt. The government would have to put the kid in some kind of group home and pay much more than $3M. The parents are right and are offering taxpayers a bargain in lieu of putting her up for adoption.

 

Re: Portland couple sues Legacy Health $3 million for their Child Born with Down Synd

Another reason all you yahoos are wrong--If the lab is making mistakes in one direction (baby doesn't have Downs), then they are also carelessly erring the other way too (baby has Downs so abort him). How many healthy babies have been aborted because of this lab's mistakes?