A woman who became pregnant after her boyfriend used an allegedly faulty condom was due to break new legal ground in court yesterday by suing the manufacturers.
Marion Richardson, 36, is claiming GBP120,000 (HK$1.5 million) damages from LRC Products, which produces a range of prophylactics under the brand name Durex.
She is claiming compensation for the discomfort, pain and inconvenience of the pregnancy and birth, and the cost of bringing up her daughter Kara, who will be four next month.
Ms Richardson kept the sheath which she said broke while she was having sex with her boyfriend, Anthony Pugh, in May 1996, and has since had it scientifically tested.
Ms Richardson says she already had two children, Nicolle nine, and Courtney, six, and did not want any more.
Her writ says the pregnancy led to the breakdown of the couple's relationship and the shelving of a business project they planned together.
It is believed to be the first such case where a condom manufacturer has been sued for the cost of a child allegedly born as a result of a faulty contraceptive.