DEFENDANTS’ DEFENSE All treatment had been timely. Placental abruption was the cause of fetal demise; the child was not viable shortly after the mother’s arrival. The time allowed for transfer from the ED to labor and delivery, evaluation, and emergency cesarean preparation was appropriate. The child could not possibly have been born alive.
VERDICT An Illinois defense verdict was returned.
Child’s enlarged heart unnoticed; lethal result
A WOMAN UNDERWENT four prenatal sonograms because she was found to have a single umbilical artery. Delivery was uneventful.
At 26 days, the infant became ill and was vomiting. The pediatrician sent the parents and baby to the emergency department, where Dr. A undertook his care. A radiologist read a three-view plain radiograph remotely and reported nothing abnormal. The infant was discharged.
When the parents returned the child to the ED the next morning, he was in cardiac failure related to an enlarged heart. He died before he could be transported to another hospital.
PATIENT’S CLAIM The ObGyn failed to diagnose the child’s defective heart in utero. Dr. A relied on the radiologist’s report; he should have personally viewed the radiograph, as it clearly showed the defective and enlarged heart. The defect could have been surgically repaired. The hospital nurses and radiologist were also negligent.
DEFENDANTS’ DEFENSE The hospital and radiologist settled for undisclosed amounts, and the trial proceeded against the ObGyn and Dr. A.
The ObGyn maintained that none of the prenatal sonograms was troubling; she had complied with the standard of care. Dr. A claimed that it was reasonable to rely on the radiologist’s report. Both physicians claimed they could not have done anything to avoid the child’s death; the hospital, radiologist, and pediatrician were at fault.
VERDICT A Kentucky defense verdict was returned.
Death from occult uterine Ca
A WOMAN SAW HER GYNECOLOGIST in January 1999 with postmenopausal bleeding and severe pelvic pain, but the physician could not determine a source of the problems.
Several months later, another gynecologist found that she had uterine sarcoma. She died of metastatic leiomyosarcoma at age 52 in July 2000.
ESTATE’S CLAIM The first gynecologist was negligent in failing to diagnose and treat the cancer, failing to consult or refer her to a specialist, and in prescribing hormones, which are contraindicated and caused the cancer to grow more rapidly.
PHYSICIAN’S DEFENSE The cancer had metastasized before the woman’s first visit, but was too small to be detected at that time. The decedent was already taking hormones when he saw her in January 1999; he only changed the type and brand. Hormones would not cause this type of cancer to grow more rapidly.
VERDICT A Texas defense verdict was returned.