What Is Sickle Cell Anemia?

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disorder. People with sickle cell anemia have sickle-shaped red blood cells. These cells don’t flow easily through their blood vessels, blocking blood from flowing to the limbs and organs. This can cause pain, serious infection, and organ damage. Sickle cell anemia is most common among African Americans and Hispanic Americans. 

Babies born with sickle cell anemia can have a variety of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. Depending on the severity of the condition, a person can have one or fewer painful crisis a year, or as many as 15. Complications can include severe life-threatening infections, especially in infants and young children. 

Genetic testing done before conception can discover if you and your partner are carriers of the disease. Prenatal testing can determine if your baby will have the disease or carry the trait. Testing can also be done at birth to determine whether a baby has sickle cell anemia.

Sickle Cell Anemia and Wrongful Birth Cases

If you were not informed of your child’s sickle cell anemia before his or her birth, you may have a wrongful birth case. An error may have occurred in one of several steps in the process:

– Your doctor failed to read or interpret test results properly (e.g., AFV, ultrasound, amniocentesis
– Your doctor did not advise you of your risks for giving birth to a baby with this condition
– The medical lab failed to perform the appropriate tests or failed to report the results.

In these cases doctors deprived of the choice to terminate the pregnancy or prepare to care for your disabled child. This may be grounds for a wrongful birth case. We know that no parent wants to make the heartbreaking decision between terminating a pregnancy and giving birth to a severely disabled child. Parents do have the right to know the facts, and the right to make that decision. Doctors and medical laboratory professionals have a responsibility to perform proper tests and inform the parents of the results.

O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble Can Help

At O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble our attorneys have extensive experience dealing with wrongful birth cases. Our team of New Jersey attorneys can help you determine if you have a wrongful birth case. 

In one case we handled, a mother took the precaution of going to a specialist to determine if her fetus had a rare genetic disorder. The medical testing company failed to do the test and the doctor failed to notice the omission. The baby was born with myotubular myopathy, requiring round-the-clock care. The jury awarded $28 million to the family, which enabled them to properly care for their sick child.

If your baby was born with sickle cell anemia contact O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble. The initial consultation is free, confidential, and you are under no obligation. Contact us online or call at (908) 928-9200 or 1-800-586-5817

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