Wisconsin bill would allow a representative of unborn child to recover in “wrongful death” actions

Last month, a bill was introduced into the Wisconsin assembly that, if passed, will define “child” in the context of civil “wrongful death” cases. Wrongful death cases are lawsuits which involve someone dying due to medical malpractice. The family member or other representative of the deceased brings a lawsuit seeking monetary compensation.

This Wisconsin bill defines a “patient” as:

… an individual who received or should have received health care services from a health care provider or from an employee of a health care provider acting within the scope of his or her employment, and includes an unborn child, as defined in s. 895.04 (1g) (c).

This bill defines an “unborn child” as:

… a human being from the time of fertilization to the time of live birth

It also defines a “deceased person” as:

… a human being who is deceased, and includes an unborn child who is deceased

In order for a person to be found liable for the wrongful death of an unborn child, the person providing medical care or service must know or have reason to know of the pregnancy.