You are here: / / MOTHER IS PRECLUDED FROM RECOVERING PURELY EMOTIONAL DAMAGES FOR PRENATAL...
,

MOTHER IS PRECLUDED FROM RECOVERING PURELY EMOTIONAL DAMAGES FOR PRENATAL TORTS BASED ON A LACK-OF-INFORMED-CONSENT THEORY; THE CHILD WAS BORN ALIVE IN SERIOUS CONDITION AND DIED SOON THEREAFTER; MOTHER ALLEGED SHE DID NOT CONSENT TO THE FAILED VACUUM EXTRACTION PROCEDURE (CT APP).

The Court of Appeals, reversing the Appellate Division, in a full-fledged opinion by Judge Singas, over two dissenting opinions (three judges), determined plaintiff mother was precluded from recovering purely emotional damages for prenatal torts based on lack of informed consent. The child was born alive but died shortly thereafter. Mother alleged she did not consent to the unsuccessful vacuum extraction procedure:

In this appeal, we must determine whether this Court’s precedent limiting recovery of purely emotional damages for prenatal torts, as reaffirmed in Sheppard-Mobley v King (4 NY3d 627 [2005]), applies to medical malpractice claims premised on lack of informed consent. We hold that it does. We are further asked, by plaintiff and the Appellate Division, to overrule our unanimous holding in Sheppard-Mobley and prior cases dictating that result. Adherence to stare decisis principles leads us to decline that invitation. * * *

Though Sheppard-Mobley involved a “traditional” medical malpractice claim, its holding was clear: a birthing parent may not “recover damages for emotional harm where . . . alleged medical malpractice causes in utero injury to the fetus, subsequently born alive” (4 NY3d at 634). As our case law and the Public Health Law make clear, a lack of informed consent claim is a type of medical malpractice claim … . Thus, a straightforward reading of Sheppard-Mobley forecloses plaintiff’s claim. SanMiguel v Grimaldi, 2025 NY Slip Op 05780, CtApp 10-21-25

Practice Point: Adhering to precedent, the Court of Appeals determined mother was precluded from recovering purely emotional damages for prenatal torts based on a lack-of-informed-consent theory. The child was born alive in serious condition. Mother alleged she did not consent to the failed vacuum extraction procedure.

 

You might also like
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE WAS MONITORING A WIRETAP WHEN DEFENDANT WAS OVERHEARD IN A CALL WHICH HAD ORIGINATED FROM THE COUNTY JAIL; LOCAL POLICE WERE ALERTED TO THE CONVERSATION AND THE POLICE OBTAINED THE RECORDING FROM THE JAIL; ALTHOUGH THE JAIL RECORDING WAS NOT AN “INTERCEPTED CONVERSATION” WITHIN THE MEANING OF CPL 700.70, IT WAS EVIDENCE DERIVED FROM AN “INTERCEPTED CONVERSTION” TRIGGERING THE CPL 700.70 NOTICE REQUIREMENTS (CT APP). ​
EVEN WHERE IT IS POSSIBLE DEFENDANT LACKS THE CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND THE SORA RISK-LEVEL PROCEEDINGS, THE RISK-LEVEL ASSESSMENT CAN BE MADE WITHOUT AN INDEPENDANT ASSESSMENT OF DEFENDANT’S MENTAL CAPACITY (CT APP).
A Third-Party’s Removal of a Safety Device Did Not Require Summary Judgment In Favor of the Manufacturer, Even though the Safety Device Would Have Prevented the Injury/There Was Evidence the Safety Device Itself Was Defective, Leading to Its Removal by the Third Party/Therefore, the “Substantial Modification” Defense Did Not Insulate the Manufacturer from Liability as a Matter of Law
Failure to Comply with Statutory Procedure Re: Jury Note Was Not “Mode of Proceedings” Error​
DISPUTES INVOLVING THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS OF FOREIGN CORPORATIONS ARE RESOLVED UNDER THE LAW OF THE PLACE OF INCORPORATION (SCOTS LAW HERE); COURTS CAN TAKE JUDICIAL NOTICE OF THE FOREIGN LAW; HERE PLAINTIFFS STATED A CAUSE OF ACTION FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY UNDER SCOTS LAW (CT APP).
Failure to Suppress Statement Was Not Harmless Error Because the Statement Undermined the Justification Defense—Proof Burdens for “Harmless Error” and the Justification Defense Explained
A “Statutory Resident” of New York for Income Tax Purposes Must Actually Reside In New York, Not Merely Maintain Property in New York
UNLIKE A LEVEL-ONE OR LEVEL-TWO STREET STOP, A LEVEL-THREE STREET STOP JUSTIFIES POLICE PURSUIT, EVEN IF THE REASON FOR THE STOP, HERE AN APPARENT IMPENDING ASSAULT, WAS DISSIPATED BY THE SUSPECT’S FLIGHT (CT APP).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

THE NYC ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN’S SERVICES (ACS) DID NOT MEET ITS... THE GUARANTY OF RENT DUE UNDER THE COMMERCIAL LEASE WAS A “GOOD GUY”...