## Facts

- Diane and Thomas Emerson decided to limit their family to one child and consulted Dr. Henry Magendantz for a sterilization procedure.
- Dr. Magendantz performed a tubal ligation on Diane on January 10, 1991.
- Despite the procedure, Diane became pregnant and later gave birth to a daughter, Kirsten, on January 11, 1992.
- The complaint alleged Kirsten had congenital problems, described only generally, and Diane later underwent a second tubal ligation.
- The Emersons sued, alleging negligent performance of the sterilization and lack of informed consent.
- The Emersons sought damages including pain and additional medical treatment, lost wages related to the pregnancy, emotional distress, and ongoing costs to care for Kirsten.

## Issues

1. Whether Rhode Island law recognizes a negligence cause of action when a physician negligently performs a sterilization procedure and the patient later becomes pregnant and delivers a child.
2. If so, what damages are recoverable, including pregnancy-related losses, emotional distress, child-rearing costs for a healthy child, and additional costs if the child is born with disabilities.

## Decision

- The court answered the first certified question yes: negligent performance of sterilization can support a negligence (medical malpractice) claim when it results in pregnancy and birth.
- The court adopted a limited-recovery rule for damages in wrongful-conception cases.
- Recoverable damages include medical expenses for the ineffective sterilization, costs of the unexpected pregnancy (including prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care), costs of a subsequent sterilization, pregnancy-related lost wages, and emotional distress and loss of consortium attributable to the unexpected pregnancy.
- The court barred recovery for emotional distress attributable to the birth of a healthy child and for ordinary child-rearing expenses for a healthy child.
- If the child is born disabled, the parents may recover the extraordinary costs attributable to the disability (above the costs of raising a healthy child).

## Legal Principles

- Negligent performance of a sterilization procedure that foreseeably results in pregnancy and childbirth is actionable under standard negligence and medical malpractice principles.
- In wrongful-conception cases, damages are limited to pregnancy- and procedure-related economic and noneconomic losses; courts may deny damages that treat the existence of a healthy child as a compensable injury.
- Restatement (Second) of Torts § 920 supports considering benefits conferred by the same conduct in mitigation when they relate to the interest harmed; intangible benefits associated with a healthy child may justify limiting damages.
- Emotional distress is compensable when tied to the unexpected pregnancy and related medical events, but not when claimed solely from the birth of a healthy child.
- When a child is born with disabilities, extraordinary disability-related costs are recoverable as objectively measurable burdens proximately caused by the negligent sterilization.

## Conclusion

Rhode Island recognized a wrongful-conception claim for negligent sterilization but limited recovery to pregnancy- and procedure-related losses, excluding ordinary child-rearing costs and birth-related emotional distress for a healthy child while permitting extraordinary disability-related expenses when the child is born disabled.


Emerson v. Magendantz, 689 A.2d 409 (R.I. 1997)