Woman loses both legs after salpingectomy: $64.3M award
Notable judgments and settlements
VERDICT A $7.5 million California settlement was reached, plus payment of medical expenses exceeding $300,000.
Timing of child’s injury disputed
Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) had been planned. After reporting to her ObGyn that she was in labor, a mother went to the ED.
During the next few hours, hospital staff called the ObGyn twice to report that fetal monitor strips indicated tachycardia. The ObGyn then spoke to the mother by phone and told her that cesarean delivery was necessary but could wait for him to get to the hospital. After the ObGyn arrived, he removed the fetal heart-rate monitor to prepare the mother’s abdomen; cesarean delivery occurred 15 minutes later.
The child has spastic dystonic quadriplegia and requires 24-hour care.
PARENT’S CLAIM The ObGyn should have come to the hospital and performed cesarean delivery when he was first notified that the fetus was tachycardic. The baby suffered an hypoxic ischemic event in the 15-minute period between when the monitor was removed and birth, causing hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
PHYSICIAN’S DEFENSE There was no indication of a need for earlier delivery. The brain injury occurred prior to labor and delivery.
VERDICT The hospital settled for a confidential amount before the trial. An Illinois defense verdict was returned for the ObGyn.
Were mammograms properly interpreted?
After reporting a lump in her breast, a 39-year-old woman underwent mammography in 2008 and 2009. Two different radiologists reported their findings as negative for cancer.
In 2010, the patient was found to have breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, and was given a 75%–80% chance of 5-year survival.
PATIENT’S CLAIM The ObGyn failed to follow-up on the patient’s reports of a breast lump. The radiologists did not correctly interpret the 2008 and 2009 mammograms. If cancer had been detected earlier, treatment would have been less extreme.
PHYSICIANS’ DEFENSE The ObGyn claimed that he would have felt a lump if it was present. The first radiologist claimed that the 2008 mammography report was correct, noting that the patient’s cancer was a lobular carcinoma that does not always show on mammography or in patients with dense breasts, which this patient has.
VERDICT A directed verdict was granted to the radiologist who interpreted the 2009 mammography, as the results were lost. An Ohio defense verdict was returned for the ObGyn and the other radiologist.
Related article: Does screening mammography save lives? Janelle Yates, Senior Editor (April 2014)
These cases were selected by the editors of OBG Management from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts, with permission of the editor, Lewis Laska (www.verdictslaska.com). The information available to the editors about the cases presented here is sometimes incomplete. Moreover, the cases may or may not have merit. Nevertheless, these cases represent the types of clinical situations that typically result in litigation and are meant to illustrate nationwide variation in jury verdicts and awards.
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