A Seattle family has been awarded $10 million after a wrongful pregnancy lawsuit was filed against the federal government. The lawsuit came after the victim, Yesenia Pacheco, was inadvertently given a flu shot instead of a birth control shot during her routine visit.

The federal judge who tried the case, U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik, awarded the parents 2.5 million dollars in damages. The child was awarded 7.5 million dollars for expenses relating to her medical care, education, and anything else deemed necessary for her quality of life.

Injection Mix-Up

On September 30, 2011, Pacheco came into the NeighborCare Health Center for her quarterly birth control injection of Depo-Provera. Gloria Rodriguez, the nurse who administered the shot, accidentally gave Pacheco the flu shot instead of the contraceptive shot. Court documents explain that the mix-up happened because of an influx of patients who were coming in for the flu shot that day.

Pacheco learned of the mistake when she called the clinic to get her next dose of Depo-Provera. During the call, the clinic could only provide records of a flu shot being administered, not the birth control injection. Pacheco came back to the clinic, where she was tested and received confirmation that she was pregnant.

The birth control contraceptive Depo-Provera is a highly effective one; however, the shots need to be taken on a consistent quarterly basis within specific time frames to protect against pregnancy. By the time Pacheco tried to schedule her next round of Depo-Provera, it was too late.

Child Born in Wrongful Pregnancy to Face Lifetime of Health Challenges

Pacheco's daughter, who is now eight years old and in the third grade at a Seattle elementary school, was born with an array of health issues. According to court documents, Pacheco's daughter suffers from a unique birth defect called bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (PMG). Because of the birth defect, Pacheco's daughter lives with slurred speech, limited language skills, cognitive delays, vision issues, epilepsy, and other health complications. The family's attorneys, Mike Maxwell and Steve Alvarez, reveal that the child has an IQ of 70 and expressed that she will need care throughout her life.

Pacheco was 16 years old when she came to the United States as an El Salvadoran refugee. Since then, she has gone to the Neighborcare Health Clinic routinely for her quarterly injection of the birth control.

The court found that the defendant was negligent in the standard of care and that a "wrongful pregnancy" or "wrongful life" ruling was the case's necessary outcome. Court documents state the following,

"Mrs. Rodriguez was thinking only of walk-in flu shots when she encountered Ms. Pacheco. She failed to confirm why Ms. Pacheco was there, to document consent to the flu vaccine or a change in the orders, or to advise Ms. Pacheco of the side effects of a flu shot and/or the consequences of skipping a Depo-Provera injection."

Because the Neighborcare Health Clinic is a federally funded clinic that serves low-income and uninsured patients, the federal government was named as the defendant in the lawsuit.

Lawyers from the Justice Department are asking the court to place some of the awarded money in a reversionary trust. This trust would allow any money that goes unused by the child to return to the federal government.