Schirmer v. Mt. Auburn Obstetrics & Gynecological Assoc.

Helen Schirmer (plaintiff) had obstetric problems that prompted her to submit to genetic testing and counseling before having a child. Schirmer’s test results indicated that she had a chromosomal condition that would cause her to have children with significant birth defects. After conceiving, Schirmer had testing conducted on the fetus. Schirmer was told that the tests indicated that the fetus was female with the same genetic condition she had. This meant that the child would develop normally. However, Schirmer actually gave birth to a boy, Matthew, with an inherited chromosomal condition that caused a permanent disability. Schirmer believed that her own tissue had inadvertently been tested rather than the fetus’s. Helen and her husband, Richard Schirmer (plaintiff), filed suit against Mt. Auburn Obstetrics and Gynecological Associates (Mt. Auburn) and various other providers (collectively, the providers) (defendants), alleging medical negligence, failure to warn, and the inability to make an informed decision about whether to end her pregnancy. The Schirmers sought three types of damages: (1) pain and suffering damages associated with birth and delivery; (2) consequential economic damages for the costs of caring for a disabled child; and (3) consequential noneconomic damages for the emotional and physical harm associated with the added burden of caring for a disabled child. After months of proceedings, the Schirmers voluntarily dismissed their claim for the first type of damages. Then, the providers moved for dismissal of the claims for consequential damages, arguing that only the first type of damages related to pain and suffering were available in an action for wrongful birth. Pursuant to the limited-damages rule, the trial court agreed and dismissed the remainder of the Schirmers’ complaint. On appeal, an appellate court affirmed and reversed in part, ruling that the second type of damages, consequential economic damages, were also available. Both the Schirmers and the defendants appealed. Together, the appeals questioned whether the wrongful-birth tort existed in Ohio and the types of damages that could be sought.