## Facts

- Terri O’Grady, near full-term in pregnancy, was admitted to a hospital with severe back pain and symptoms consistent with labor.
- Treating physicians (including Dr. Robert Brown and Dr. Robert Slickman) managed her care over roughly 24 hours as her condition worsened.
- Terri’s uterus ruptured, and the fetus was delivered stillborn.
- The parents alleged negligent failure to monitor, diagnose, and treat signs of maternal distress, uterine rupture, and fetal distress, causing the fetal death.
- The petition alleged: (1) Terri’s personal injuries, (2) Kevin’s loss of consortium, and (3) wrongful death of the unborn child under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.080.
- The trial court dismissed the wrongful-death count on the ground that an unborn child was not a “person” under the statute; the parents appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a viable unborn child is a “person” within Mo. Rev. Stat. § 537.080 such that the child’s parents may maintain a wrongful-death action for negligent death before birth.

## Decision

- The Missouri Supreme Court (en banc) reversed the dismissal of the wrongful-death claim and remanded.
- The court held that a viable unborn child is a “person” under Missouri’s wrongful-death statute.
- The court overruled prior Missouri decisions that categorically excluded unborn children from the statute’s coverage.

## Legal Principles

- Missouri’s wrongful-death statute is remedial and should be construed to serve its compensation and deterrence purposes.
- Construing “person” to include a viable unborn child avoids arbitrary outcomes that turn on the fortuity of live birth when the same negligent conduct causes death just before versus just after delivery.
- Viability provides a principled line for recognizing the death of an unborn child as a compensable wrongful death under § 537.080.
- Legislative silence does not bar a judicial construction that aligns statutory text with statutory purpose and contemporary medical understanding.

## Conclusion

The court recognized a statutory wrongful-death claim for the negligent death of a viable unborn child, reversing dismissal of the parents’ wrongful-death count and returning the case for further proceedings.


O'Grady v. Brown, 654 S.W.2d 904 (Mo. 1983) (en banc)