A state appeals court says a southeastern Wisconsin health care clinic does not have to pay the cost of raising a child, after it gave vitamins instead of birth control pills to a pregnant woman.
Austin Omernick and Shelby Nell said the West Bend Clinic was responsible for the mistake, and therefore the clinic should pay all of the child’s living costs until age 18, plus damages for the pain and suffering Nell had during her pregnancy. The Second District Appellate Court said today that the couple can seek the pain and suffering damages, but the judges said it was too easy to commit fraud by claiming that the clinic allowed the child to be born.
The mistake happened in February of 2009, when Nell was mistakenly given prenatal vitamins instead of her usual prescription for birth control pills at the clinic. She failed to realize she was taking the wrong pills for almost a month and then discovered she was pregnant in April. Nell delivered a healthy baby boy in December of 2009.
