Prenatal Testing Error Lawyers in the United States (2026)

About prenatal testing errors claims

If prenatal testing goes wrong, the information you get about your pregnancy may be inaccurate. If a mistake in ordering a test falls below the applicable standard of care and causes harm, it may warrant a malpractice review; mistakes in sample handling or reporting results can, too. Even if it's a false positive, an unexpected result alone doesn't establish negligence. When you start, have the original test report alongside the explanation you received.

You may be here because a result alarmed you. Or you may have relied on information you only later learned was wrong. Before you decide who's at fault, get medical clarification. Once you have that, a lawyer in your state or province can assess whether the care and what followed support a claim.

What counts as a prenatal testing error?

Prenatal testing means examining information about a pregnancy before birth. When genetic screening or ultrasound goes wrong, this practice area covers it, including mistakes in ordering or performing a test. That includes reporting errors. An inaccurate result isn't the only question; review also asks whether someone made an avoidable testing mistake or went wrong while explaining what the result meant.

The legal page Errors in Prenatal Testing flags potential problems with sample or result mix-ups, and with inaccurate interpretation. It also warns against trusting tests too much given their false-positive or false-negative limitations. Where the review starts depends on the problem. If a sample was mixed up, you'll need different records than for a disagreement about a clinician's explanation of a correctly reported result.

Screening isn't the same as a confirmed diagnosis

Someone needs to interpret screening results. Even when nothing is wrong, a screening test can return an abnormal result, as Screening for Birth Defects explains. If parents receive a high-risk result, they need to understand that distinction, especially when someone calls the finding certain.

The medical literature on prenatal screening errors often discusses noninvasive prenatal testing, which is commonly called NIPT. Some of it looks at screening using cell-free DNA. There's concern when a result's abnormal. Because an inconclusive result leaves the testing question unanswered, you can't use the two interchangeably. Rather than relying on a short portal message, ask your clinician to explain the exact wording on your report.

How errors happen, and what deserves a closer look

Before the laboratory analyzes your sample, a mistake can already have happened. If samples are mislabeled or handled improperly, results may be inconclusive, according to NIPT false positive results: Why they occur and what to do. It flags errors in data analysis, too. When you read the original report, it may help you separate a laboratory problem from a problem with how someone passed the result to you.

Even if nobody mishandles a test, it can fail. In X Kong's study, Reasons for failure of noninvasive prenatal test for cell-free …, NIPT mainly failed because the ratio of cell-free fetal DNA was low. Low fetal fraction means there's insufficient placental chromosome material, as the patient-facing article What noninvasive prenatal testing can (and can't) tell you also explains.

An inconclusive result isn't, by itself, proof of laboratory error. The next question is how the care team handled a result that wasn't clear. Once you've asked whether the chart records the result accurately, check whether the explanation you received matches the report.

• It looks as though another patient's sample or report is yours.
• The laboratory's written finding doesn't match what the clinician told you.
• Someone told you the inconclusive result was reassuring or definitive.
• You heard an abnormal screening result called a confirmed condition, without anyone explaining the test's limitations.

Although these discrepancies aren't findings of malpractice, they do call for clarification. Use plain language to describe the mismatch. For example, instead of accusing someone of causing the problem, note the report's words alongside what you remember being told.

False positives: read the number in context

According to the article Inaccurate Prenatal Tests Can Harm Expectant Parents …, NIPT for five rare genetic conditions can return false-positive results 80% to 93% of the time. Those figures are about the five rare conditions. If you're considering prenatal testing as a whole, or every condition NIPT screens, those figures don't apply.

Reported false-positive range for NIPT involving five rare genetic conditions, not all prenatal screening

80%–93%

Source

You can't tell whether your report is correct from a population-level number. Which condition does it cover? Then check whether it applies to your test; if the explanation differs from what you were first told, it's especially important to keep the answer with your report.

When a testing problem may be malpractice

A malpractice review needs more than a wrong result. The review compares the care with the applicable standard of care, meaning what's expected under the circumstances, and asks whether a departure from that standard caused the harm claimed. That asks about causation. Whether you can be compensated for that harm depends on the rules governing your case.

Don't mix those questions. Even when everyone performs a test properly, it can have known limitations; someone may also explain a report with unjustified certainty even though it accurately describes uncertainty. A lawyer can compare your chart with the communication record to see what needs closer review.

Don't overlook what happened after the result. Which information did you rely on when deciding what to do after the result? What happened once you'd acted? You can't assume a testing mistake caused your child's condition simply because it wasn't identified before birth.

Build a record of what happened

Don't form a theory without the documents. You can ask for a review before deciding whether the ordering clinician or laboratory was responsible, or if the mistake involved another provider. A clear account of what happened during testing will help more than trying to remember enough to pin the blame on someone.

Leave the originals unchanged. Put your comments in a separate document so the person reviewing the file can tell your recollections apart from the report. Say you aren't sure if you can't remember the exact date or wording.

Deadlines differ by state and province

There's no single statute of limitations for prenatal testing claims that covers both the United States and Canada. Ask a lawyer in the state or province where you received care which rules apply to you and which dates matter; deadlines aren't the same everywhere.

Don't choose your filing date based on a general article. Tell the lawyer when the tests took place, then explain when you first learned there might have been a mistake. Start with our state pages or Canada pages for the rules in your jurisdiction; you'll still need to confirm the deadline directly.

Related concerns during pregnancy and delivery

Our Obstetrical Malpractice page covers pregnancy care concerns that go beyond testing. Bring relevant pregnancy and delivery records to the same consultation if you're unsure how the events connect; our Birth Injury page is about injuries associated with birth (a separate area).

What to do next

Your care team is the place to turn for medical guidance about a pregnancy that's still ongoing. You don't have to finish gathering documents for a lawyer before asking; a legal review won't explain what your current screening result means for your care.

Tell the lawyer first what most clearly doesn't match. The report and the explanation you received may not match; wrong patient information or a result nobody told you about are other things to point out. Ask the lawyer what's missing from your records, then whether there's enough reason to look into the matter further.