Parenting is tough especially when you never signed up for the demanding role. Diego Naranjo, a doctor from Medellin, Colombia, was stuck having to provide financial support for his patient’s baby until the age of 18 after the patient ended up conceiving even though they got a vasectomy.
Naranjo has no choice but to pay millions of pesos to support one of his patient’s babies after he falsely informed the patient that his vasectomy was successful. The patient didn’t use contraception after the operation and ended up getting his wife pregnant where they gave birth to an unplanned baby.
Sperm tests later revealed that the vasectomy had been unsuccessful and the parents of the baby filed a lawsuit against the doctor, alleging that his negligence caused them financial and emotional losses. A judge ordered the doctor to support the baby until it turns 18 years old. The extra childcare cost will surely put a dent in the doctor’s salary.
“As a result of this unexpected conclusion, the patient was not recommended to continue using contraceptive methods to avoid the risk of pregnancy,” the recent court ruling read. “When it was proven that the parents did not want to procreate more children, it was concluded that there was an impact on their life projects that had repercussions in the immaterial field, especially considering the precarious economic situation of the father, who currently cannot work due to their health problems.”
The baby’s father has severe bilateral hearing loss so he is unable to work due to his frequent dizziness and vomiting. The hearing difficulties were an obstacle in securing employment for the father so the judge ruled that the doctor is held liable for the childcare expenses.
According to the recent court ruling, Dr. Naranjo will have to pay the patient’s family “80 current minimum wages, or 92 million pesos ($20,300) in moral damages, 60 million pesos ($13,200) in legal fees, and 143 million pesos ($31,500) as child support.”
The unsuccessful vasectomy was done in 2012 and the patient had a baby girl the next year. She is now 10 years old so the doctor has eight more years left until his financial freedom.