Birth Injury Lawsuit Arises After Doctor Fails To Monitor, Part 2 of 2

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a birth injury case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this birth injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

The wife denied that the OB-GYN informed her of the need for periodic monitoring of her cervix during her first office visit with him in March 2007.

The plaintiffs claimed that during the May 3 hospital visit, an OB-GYN nurse had several discussions with the doctor via phone, and he did not order an ultrasound at that time. The plaintiffs denied that during the scheduled visit with the doctor on May 11, he told the wife that she needed an immediate ultrasound to evaluate her cervix.

The plaintiffs contended that the doctor fell below the accepted standards of care in not implementing his plan to monitor the wife’s cervix by way of ultrasound every two weeks. If he had done so, they argued, he would have appreciated that the wife’s cervix was incompetent as of May 1 and would have then been able to implement strategies ranging from strict bed rest to cerclage, which likely would have allowed the wife to deliver at some point after 28 weeks gestation, and as such, the ROP could have been avoided.

The OB-GYN testified that he informed the wife that she should schedule the ultrasounds every two weeks directly with a local imaging center during her first office visit in March 2007.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

The OB-GYN reported that he told the wife that she needed an immediate ultrasound to evaluate her cervix on May 11, though his notes are silent on the issue.

The doctor contended that he complied with the accepted standards of care in instructing the wife to schedule her ultrasound every two weeks and further argued that the wife would have likely delivered when she did regardless of ultrasound, bed rest or cerclage.

Twin B sustained permanent blindness as a result of ROP.

The parents sought recovery for Twin B’s cost of care on account of his blindness and for pain and suffering.

SUMMARY:
RESULT: Settlement
Award Total: $1,000,000

At the completion of non-expert discovery, the case settled for the OB-GYN’s insurance policy limits of $1 million.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

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