While a "wrongful life" claim is a novel question of
law, it is certainly not a rare one. Such a claim has been examined
by the Canadian courts on several occasions and, most recently, by
the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Florence v.
Benzaquen1.
What is a Claim for "Wrongful Life"?
It is settled law that a child can sue for injuries as a result
of negligence committed while in the womb by third-party
tortfeasors, once born alive. Common examples are medical
negligence during the labour and delivery process or as a result of
injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident where the force of
the impact causes injury to the foetus.2
A claim for wrongful life, however, is one that is asserted by a
parent or child for a pregnancy that results in a birth where the
child has birth defects or genetic disorder and where it is argued
that but for the negligence of the defendant, the child would not
have been born.
