Ron Snow convinces NH Supreme Court to Reverse $2.3 Million Verdict in Medical Malpractice Case

In a decision issued on April 25, 2006, the New Hampshire Supreme Court agreed with senior Orr & Reno litigator Ron Snow that the trial court should have set aside a jury’s $2.3 million verdict in a wrongful birth medical malpractice suit. The plaintiffs in the case had argued that Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center had failed to inform them during the prenatal period of the increased possibility that their baby would be born with serious birth defects, thus depriving them of the opportunity to consider terminating the pregnancy. But, after describing the complex ultrasound and genetic testing and counseling that was undertaken both before and after the birth, the Court agreed with Snow that at trial the evidence showed that the Medical Center had told the parents of the possibility of birth defects. The Supreme Court declined to adopt the parents’ argument that they should have been told what was wrong with their baby and advised to consider termination. Thus, the Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s decision on post trial motions and set aside the verdict.

The decision is available on the website of the New Hampshire Supreme Court here.