Prenatal testing only helps a family if the sample is handled correctly, the result is accurate, and someone explains what it means in time to matter. When any link in that chain fails, parents are left making decisions on information that was never right.
A prenatal test passes through several hands. Someone decides which test to order and when. A sample is collected and labelled. A laboratory processes and interprets it. A report is generated and sent. A clinician receives it, reads it, and explains it. Somewhere in that sequence, a family is meant to end up genuinely informed.
Errors can enter at any of those points, and the record usually shows where. A claim arises where the care at one of those points fell below what a reasonably competent practitioner or laboratory would have provided, and that failure deprived a family of information or of the chance to act on it.
The team of lawyers at Diamond and Diamond have experience handling prenatal testing claims for clients across Canada. Scheduling a consultation is the first step toward understanding your rights and determining the strength of your case.
Past results are not necessarily indicative of future results and the amount recovered and other litigation outcomes will vary according to the facts in individual cases.
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Our legal team reviews the requisition, laboratory records, reports, and clinic notes to assess whether the accepted standard of care was met at each stage.
If we take on your case, we pursue compensation for the loss of informed choice and the additional care your family now needs.
Ordering failures involve a test that should have been offered and was not, a test ordered too late in the pregnancy to be useful, or testing arranged without a proper discussion of what it does and does not tell you.
Collection and laboratory failures involve samples mislabelled, switched, contaminated, or degraded in transit, and results misinterpreted or transcribed incorrectly. Reporting failures involve a result that never reaches the ordering clinician, or reaches the chart without reaching anyone who acts on it. Follow-up failures involve a result that was received but not explained, or an option it opened that was never offered.
Timing runs through all of it. A prenatal result that arrives after the point at which a family could act on it may be of little practical use, which is why delay is so often central to these claims. What is offered and when varies by province, since prenatal screening programmes are organised provincially. Prenatal Screening Ontario sets out what Ontario's publicly funded tests can and cannot tell you; your province's programme may differ.
The theme in these claims is a chain with a broken link. Each stage has its own checks, and each is meant to catch what the one before it missed.
Because the sequence is documented end to end — requisition, chain of custody, laboratory record, report, clinic note — it is usually possible to establish where the failure occurred and who was responsible for that stage.
"If you believe a prenatal test was mishandled, request the requisition, laboratory reports, and clinic notes, and keep any written result you received directly. These will greatly assist your legal team in reviewing your case."— Diamond & Diamond Lawyers
The consequences of a testing failure depend on what the information would have changed. Sometimes it is the chance to arrange specialist care and a managed delivery. Sometimes it is the opportunity to prepare. Sometimes it is a reproductive decision that was taken out of a family's hands.
In a claim of this kind, the loss the law recognises is the loss of accurate information and the opportunity to make an informed decision, together with the additional costs of care that follow. A child's life is never treated as the harm, and these claims are approached with that firmly in mind. Claims commonly cover additional medical treatment, therapy, adaptive equipment, home and vehicle modifications, attendant care, and income lost by a parent providing that care.
Non-financial damages — such as pain and suffering — are more qualitative. Courts evaluate these based on previous case law that attributes a financial value to the impact of the injury or impairment on a person's life. Family members may also have claims of their own for loss of care, guidance, and companionship.
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Physicians, midwives, laboratories, and genetic services each have a duty to provide care that meets the accepted standard. When that duty is breached and a family is deprived of information they were entitled to, you need a legal team with the experience and resources to navigate the complexities of medical malpractice law.
The team of lawyers at Diamond and Diamond have experience handling these claims and will work to protect your family's rights while providing you with clear, honest legal guidance throughout the process. Diamond and Diamond has offices in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, and the team handles medical malpractice claims for clients across Canada.
Avoid making contact with other parties involved in your case. Your lawyers from Diamond and Diamond should be your main point of contact in any medical malpractice matter. Contact our law firm now to discuss your case.
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Thank you the team of diamond and diamond! Very professional, courteous and excellent communication!— Emile Asuncion, Sep 4, 2026
The foundation of any medical malpractice claim rests on proving that care fell below the accepted standard. In a testing claim, the relevant standard depends on which stage failed — the clinician who ordered, the person who collected, the laboratory that processed, or the clinician who received and explained.
Establishing this typically requires evidence from qualified professionals familiar with the stage in question. An experienced personal injury lawyer at Diamond and Diamond can help you navigate this process.
A prenatal testing claim usually turns on what the information would have changed. If a result had arrived accurately and on time, what would have been available to the family, and what would they realistically have done?
That question is why the dates in the record matter so much — when the sample was taken, when the laboratory reported, when the clinician received it, and when the family was finally told.
Request your complete prenatal file, including the test requisition, laboratory reports, ultrasound reports, referral letters, and clinic notes. Keep any result you were given directly, and write down when you were told each result and by whom.
Avoid discussing a potential claim with the providers involved in your care. Your next step should be to contact a personal injury lawyer with experience in medical malpractice cases, who can evaluate your situation during a free consultation.
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See All Medical Malpractice FAQsThis page provides general information about Canadian law and is not legal advice. Health care is regulated provincially and territorially, so the legislation, regulators and standards that apply depend on where you were treated. Every situation is different. For advice about your circumstances, speak with a lawyer.
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