Couple Sues Long Beach Hospital Over Birth of Cystic Fibrosis Baby

A couple is suing Long Beach Memorial Medical Center for wrongful life and wrongful birth, alleging the actions of a doctor overseeing the woman’s prenatal care denied them the choice of having an abortion instead of eventually seeing their son be born and later test positive for cystic fibrosis.

Javier Sanchez and Samantha Hernandez filed the lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of themselves and their son, Justin James Sanchez. The boy tested positive for the hereditary disorder when his mother gave birth to him on Sept. 6, 2014, the suit states.

The lawsuit also names Memorial Health Services, Dr. James P. Cardin Jr. and Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories. The suit seeks unspecified damages.

A Long Beach Memorial spokeswoman said Friday she would look into the matter and check to see if hospital officials had a comment.

The suit states that Hernandez began receiving care from Cardin in November 2013. Long Beach Memorial and Quest Diagnostics were responsible for her laboratory testing, according to the complaint.

Hernandez told Cardin that she wanted her fetus tested for genetic disorders because she and Sanchez could not afford medical treatment for a child born with congenital conditions, the suit states.

“Further, (Hernandez) specifically requested cystic fibrosis carrier screening in writing,” the suit states.

Cardin obtained a blood specimen from Hernandez, but “failed to obtain the screening results from the laboratory and/or failed to advise Samantha and Javier of the results of the screening, which would have revealed she was a carrier of the genetic mutation which causes CF and would have prompted CF testing of the fetus,” the suit states.

In addition, Quest failed to test the specimen and give the results to Cardin, Hernandez and Sanchez, the suit states.

As a result, Hernandez remained unaware that she tested positive for the cystic fibrosis carrier gene and both she and Sanchez “were therefore not given an informed choice to abort,” the suit states.

The couple will have significant medical expenses for their son’s lifelong care, the suit states.

City News Service