This happened in Israel. How long have some forms of genetic testing been around? Today, the child is 18 years old, so I would say quite a while. The couple contended that if they had been properly advised from the start, the pregnancy would have been aborted. We all know this process has been around for quite a while as pregnant women who have been to the OBGYN know well. This has been a target for a number of years to find the gene.
In this case it appears it was diagnosed but the HMO didn't advise the couple and 18 years later, a child with serious issues. The gene had been detected with the fetus and the couple was told the child should be ok, but this sounds like an interpretation issue as the case is described where nobody is really a winner. With personalized medicine today we are seeing this process being expanded and is the result of many of the treatment plans and pharmaceuticals we use today. BD
"She was diagnosed with ALD at the age of 10. Today, aged 18, she suffers from a range of severe disabilities including acute psychomotor disturbance, frontal lobe syndrome (manifested in a tendency to kiss and bite) and severely impaired judgment. Her condition requires constant care and supervision. "
The Kupat Holim Clalit health maintenance organization (HMO) was ordered last week to pay a record NIS 14 million in damages after one of its physicians failed to diagnose a deadly genetic disease. The settlement is the largest sum ever paid in Israel for medical malpractice. A judge at Be'er Sheva District Court found the HMO negligent on the basis of the doctor's erroneous diagnosis of a fetus.
Prof. Moshe Chamka, then head of the institute, determined that the fetus' chromosomes were normal, even though he was aware of warnings from doctors at a Dutch laboratory specializing in the disease, who examined samples and found that the fetus was carrying the deadly gene. They alerted Chamka to the possibility that the girl could eventually develop the disorder in its most severe form.
Despite these warnings, Chamka told the expectant parents that while the fetus appeared to be carrying the gene, their daughter would not suffer from the disorder.
HMO to pay record NIS 14m for failing to diagnose genetic disorder - Haaretz - Israel News
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