Procanik v. Cillo
New Jersey Supreme Court
478 A.2d 755, 97 N.J. 339 (1984)
- Written by Michael Beverly, JD
Facts
Peter Procanik (plaintiff), an infant, was born with congenital rubella syndrome due to his mother, Rosemary, contracting German measles while she was pregnant. Rosemary consulted Dr. Cillo (defendant) about symptoms she was having during her pregnancy and Dr. Cillo negligently interpreted the results of a test to mean that Rosemary did not have German measles. As a result, Rosemary continued with her pregnancy and gave birth to Peter with numerous birth defects. Dr. Cillo’s negligence deprived the Procaniks information that would have prevented Peter’s birth because they would have terminated the pregnancy had they known of the German measles. Peter brought a “wrongful life” suit, claiming special damages for the extraordinary medical expenses resulting from his defects, and general damages for his emotional distress and impaired childhood. The trial court granted Dr. Cillo’s motion to dismiss and the appellate court affirmed. Peter appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Pollock, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Handler, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Schreiber, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 788,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
