Hospital Declined to Make Prenatal Survey

A family has sued a hospital for a second time because the doctors declined to make a prenatal examination. Their child was born with the same genetic illness as its elder brother. The first trial gave the mother, Barbara Wojnarowski, damages of 60,000 złoty, but that did not cover the entire expense of bringing up a disabled child. So the court permitted an additional suit.

The complainants said the decision of carrying the pregnancy to birth or having an abortion had depended on that prenatal examination. Because the exam was refused and the baby was born with the genetic disease, the Mr. and Mrs. Wojnarowski want the hospital to pay the ongoing costs of rearing their disabled child.

At the video court, where the sides don’t have to appear personally, the judge has heard testimony from doctors. They answered judge’s and attorneys’ questions for three hours and also volunteered their own opinions. The case should conclude in December. Compensation cases are not as common in Poland as in the USA. But people are getting more and more aggressive with their claims. The compensations in medical cases also are growing slowly but steadily.

It is a sign that people in Poland don’t have to feel either helpless or hopeless. A few months ago, the court granted a record compensation of 700,000 złoty and an allowance of 3,280 złoty a month for maltreatment which left a boy partly paralysed. The case took more than three years to decide. A material compensation usually doesn’t bring hope for recovery and can’t turn back the time, but it does give the sufferer an opportunity for a better life.

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