Judgment, 28 January 1988.
The plaintiff sought compensation after the death of her fetus in the forty-first week of pregnancy due to the alleged medical negligence of the defendants.  The High Regional Court at Koblenz, Federal Republic of Germany, ruled that the suit was permissible under a theory that the plaintiff's health had been damaged when the fetus died.  It concluded that, before birth, the mother and fetus were one and that the law should recognize this fact in determining liability.  Nonetheless, it did not award damages, holding that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate negligence.
D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D005060:Europe; D005313:Fetal Death; D005860:Germany, West; D007603:Jurisprudence; D009026:Mortality; D011153:Population; D011157:Population Dynamics
Court Decision; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Europe; Fetal Death--legal aspects; Germany, Federal Republic Of; Medical Liability; Mortality; Population; Population Dynamics; Western Europe