A couple who say they were not told that the husband's vasectomy could "correct" itself naturally can continue to sue Wairarapa District Health Board, a court has decided.
The board has twice tried and failed to have the couple's $250,000 damages claim thrown out of court, most recently in the HighCourt before Justice Gendall, where the couple were identified only by their initials.
The husband had a vasectomy, a normally irreversible sterilisation, and in July 1998 the pair were told they could safely have sex without contraception.
"Much to [their] surprise ... she became pregnant in May 1999 and gave birth to a child in February 2000," Justice Gendall said. He rejected the board's arguments that accident compensation laws barred the couple's action and that damages could not be claimed for the costs of rearing a healthy child.
