Couple sue over Down syndrome child

A Joburg couple is claiming several million in damages from two gynaecologists and from a pathologist company after their daughter was born with Down syndrome.

Frederick and Joanita Lange of Sharonlea said in papers before the Pretoria High Court that if they had known before the birth of their daughter five and a half years ago that she would suffer from Down syndrome, they would have considered the option of terminating the pregnancy.

The court will at this stage only determine whether the medical practitioners were at fault. If it is found that they were negligent, the matter of how much in damages the couple should be awarded will be determined at a later stage.

Joanita Lange said she discovered she was pregnant in the first week of January 2006 and she consulted gynaecologist Dr Johan Moller the following month.

In March, an ultrasound was performed to test the thickness of the layer of fluid which formed near the neck of the developing foetus.

The woman said she was told that all was fine and that the measurement was not indicative of Down syndrome.

She was then sent for blood tests at a pathology company, but when she got there, she was told it was too late to have screen tests done for signs of Down syndrome, as the tests were done only until 20 weeks of pregnancy and she was in her 20th week at that stage.

As her first specialist had moved, she consulted another, Dr Elna Loock, who reassured her that the chances of her carrying a Down syndrome child were slim as the condition became more common in women older than 35. She was 29 at the time. She gave birth to Imke on September 8, 2006, and the child had Down syndrome.

She blamed the specialists and the pathologist for the fact that she gave birth to a child suffering from this condition, stating they should have detected this during her pregnancy and advised her that she had the option to terminate the pregnancy. She said if all the tests had been done properly, the specialists would have detected the chromosomal defects.

She stated that the “negligence” of the specialists to “do proper tests” caused her and her husband emotional and psychological as well as financial damage.

It was stated that a Down syndrome child was in need of specialist medical care. These costs, they said, were far more than the costs incurred raising a child without this condition.

Imke would have to receive specialised medical care, physiotherapy and speech therapy as she was slow in developing and the parents had to undergo treatment for severe psychological trauma and depression, the court was told.

Lange told the court yesterday that she and her husband were first-time parents who did not know what to expect.

She said they expected the specialists to do all the necessary tests, as they trusted them.

The specialists and the pathologist deny any wrongdoing.

They are expected to present their case later this week, but stated in court papers that they treated the mother with care and diligence at all times and saw to it that the necessary tests were conducted.

Pretoria News