This story is the sort that just makes you shake your head in dismay and disbelief:

In what is being called a ”wrongful birth” case, a jury awarded more than $21 million Monday to a couple who claimed a doctor misdiagnosed a severe birth defect in their son, leading them to have a second child with similar problems.

But because the doctor works for the University of South Florida, the family will have to persuade the Legislature to award most of the money. State law limits negligence claims against government agencies at $200,000.

Daniel and Amara Estrada, whose two young sons aren’t able to communicate and need constant care, sought at least enough money to care for the second child, 2-year-old Caleb.

”This is a severely impaired child who will need a great deal of care for the rest of his life,” said Christian Searcy, one of the attorneys who tried the case. He called the award ”conservative but fair.”

The couple claimed that Dr. Boris Kousseff failed to diagnose their first son’s genetic disorder, called Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, which is the inability to correctly produce or synthesize cholesterol, after his 2002 birth.

Had the disorder been correctly diagnosed, a test would have indicated whether the couple’s second child also was afflicted and they would have terminated the pregnancy, according to the lawsuit.

“Wrongful birth”??