(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the proceedings.)
FACTS:
Due to absence of comprehensive nursing notes on Ms. Cruz while she was in L&D, exceedingly poor memories of the witnesses whose depositions have been taken to date, and a lack of access to the chart on the breech patient, the facts relating to both Ms. Cruz and the breech patient while each were in L&D and the OR remain somewhat uncertain.
Ms. Cruz was a 42-year-old mother of six when she first began receiving prenatal care from Dr. U. at Universal Health Clinic on April 18, 2002. An OB sonogram revealed a due date of October 23. Ms. Cruz had no complaints until August, 2002. During the month of August, Ms. Cruz developed headaches, weakness and sweats. Later that month, a 3-hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) found excess sugar so she was referred to a high-risk OB to manage those problems. During the months of August and September her systolic blood pressure rose to 140. Late in September, Ms. Cruz was seen by a high-risk OB and ante-partum testing was begun on October 1. On October 1, a non-stress test (NST) revealed a healthy, reactive fetus. The systolic pressure on Ms. Cruz remained borderline at 140. No physician thought it necessary to place Ms. Cruz on anti-hypertensive medication or on magnesium sulfate based on these borderline values. Her pressures never increased from that level for any significant period of time.
At approximately 6:00 am on October 5, 2002, Ms. Cruz woke with cramping, abdominal pain at home and took a taxi across town to Regional Medical Center, where she understood that Dr. U. delivered his patients. Accompanying her was her 17-year-old daughter, Amanda Cruz, who spoke English well. (See Part 4 of 11.)
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