Medical Verdicts
NOTABLE JUDGMENTS AND SETTLEMENTS IN BRIEF
The nurse testified that she faxed fetal monitor strips twice to the on-call OB and twice asked him to come see the woman. The on-call OB asserted that only 1 fax was received and denied being asked to come to the woman’s bedside before 2:35 AM. The defense denied the standard of care required a physician be at the woman’s bedside prior to 3:00 AM.
- The case settled for $5.25 million ($1 million from the hospital and the rest from the physicians).
Drug abuse at fault, not lack of tocolytics
A woman presented at 27 weeks’ gestation with complaints of cramping and spotting. The nurse reported to the physician that the woman stated she was not having contractions and that an hour on a fetal monitor revealed no contractions. Therefore, the physician advised the nurse to discharge the patient.
The woman returned an hour later, however, and vaginal examination revealed that delivery was imminent; she underwent a cesarean section delivery. The infant was noted to have respiratory problems, a bowel perforation, and retinopathy of prematurity. After discharge the infant failed to thrive and was diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cerebral palsy, cortical blindness, and severe mental retardation. The child has required nutrition via a gastrostomy tube since age 3.
In suing, the plaintiff claimed the physicians failed to examine the mother at her first presentation and administer tocolytic agents.
The defense denied the woman was having contractions and asserted that she had an incompetent cervix, and that the infant’s problems were the results of parental neglect and drug abuse.
- The jury returned a defense verdict.
Phone call from nurse disputed in fetal injury
A woman admitted in labor had an initial reassuring fetal heart monitor tracing, but as labor progressed, the tracings became nonreassuring. The labor and delivery nurse called the OB at home in the early morning hours. The fetal heart tracings deteriorated further and the OB was called again. He came quickly to the hospital, and by his arrival the fetus was in severe distress. There was an additional delay before the woman was transferred to an operating room for an emergency cesarean section.
The infant was born with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, and cerebral palsy and global developmental delay ensued. The woman claimed the nurse (who worked for a nursing registry apart from the hospital) should have clarified the seriousness of the situation in the first phone call and that the OB should have gone to the hospital sooner. The nurse maintained that she had described the fetal heart tracing accurately in the first phone call. The OB denied hearing such a description.
- The case settled for $3.3 million ($930,000 from the OB, $950,00 from the nursing registry, and $1.45 million from the hospital).
Jury agreed ovarian cancer looked like perimenopause
A 47-year-old woman with a history of breast cancer at an early age presented to the emergency department complaining of heavy vaginal bleeding for 4 to 5 days, after no menstrual periods for 2 months.
The hospital emergency department physician ruled out neoplasm and diagnosed and treated her for dysfunctional uterine bleeding. She was referred to a gynecologist.
She saw her usual gynecologist the next day, who also diagnosed heavy periods and perimenopause. She also saw her internist several times over the next few months.
She returned to her gynecologist 4 months later with complaints of abdominal pain and urinary symptoms. A pelvic ultrasound, ordered to follow up a tender right ovary, revealed an ovarian cyst. Laparoscopy was recommended, which the woman refused, and she was told to return in 2 weeks. She did not return for 2 months; however, she did visit her internist twice during the interim, with complaints of bilateral lower abdominal pain and bloating. When she returned to her gynecologist, another ultrasound revealed bilateral ovarian cysts that had grown, and the woman was in substantial pain. Prompt surgery was recommended.
Surgery revealed stage IIIC grade III ovarian cancer. After a long course of chemotherapy, the woman died 2 years later.
The suit against the gynecologist and the internist alleged negligence in delayed diagnosis of the ovarian cancer, failure to take a proper history, and failure to have a high index of suspicion due to the woman’s known history of breast cancer. Had earlier ultrasound and a CA 125 blood test been performed, the cancer would have been diagnosed sooner and cure would have been more likely, the plaintiff claimed.
