A wrongful life claim asserts the child's own cause of action for being born with a condition that competent care would have led parents to avoid. Most states reject it on the ground that existence cannot be compared to nonexistence.
A minority permit limited special damages.
Alternative Names:
Wrongful Life Claim, Child's Claim
Why it Matters?
Rejection in most jurisdictions makes the claim rarely viable, though a small number of states permit recovery of extraordinary medical expenses on the child's behalf. The conceptual objection courts articulate is that damages require comparing life with a disability against nonexistence, which is not measurable. Where permitted, the recoverable damages are narrower than in the parallel wrongful birth claim.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Why do most states reject the claim?
What do the minority states permit?
