Articles Posted in Obstetrician Negligence

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Doe received prenatal care at Roe’s obstetrical practice. An ultrasound revealed that she was carrying monochorionic diamniotic twins.

Monochorionic diamniotic twins are a product of a single fertilized egg resulting in genetically identical offspring. The term diamniotic refers to multiple gestations with two distinct placental disks and describes the pregnancy with a distinct amniotic cavity. Dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancy is a twin pregnancy in which each fetus has its own placenta and amniotic sac.

Nevertheless, an obstetrician allegedly categorized the twins as dichorionic. At 38 weeks gestation, an ultrasound showed no fetal heartbeat. Doe underwent a cesarean section to deliver her stillborn children.
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Doe’s mother received some of her prenatal care at a federally funded healthcare program. Doe’s mother was admitted to a hospital for induction of labor at more than 40 weeks gestation.

The next day, the fetal monitor allegedly showed prolonged and late decelerations. Approximately two hours later, Baby Doe was delivered by cesarean section.

Doe’s Apgar scores were 1 at 1 minute and 4 at 5 minutes. He was diagnosed as having suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. Doe is now 5 years old and requires 24/7 care. Doe’s family and guardians filed a lawsuit against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The family alleged negligence by one provider and the hospital. The suit also alleged negligence by another provider and maintained that the provider failed to perform a timely cesarean section that would have prevented the child’s brain damage.
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Ms. Doe required cervical cerclage to address cervical insufficiency during previous pregnancies. She consulted a maternal-fetal medicine specialist during the 12th week of her fourth pregnancy. After an evaluation, the doctor allegedly offered numerous treatment options to Ms. Doe.

When Ms. Doe returned four weeks later, her cervix measured 23 millimeters. She requested a cervical cerclage given her condition. The cervix measured 20.1 millimeters when another specialist evaluated her less than a week later. In another week, the treating physician scheduled the cerclage.

While Ms. Doe was on her way to the procedure, her cervix failed. She went into labor. Her child was born at approximately 18-weeks gestation and died within an hour of his birth. Ms. Doe sued the two doctors alleging they chose not to perform a timely cervical cerclage. Ms. Doe asserted that the first doctor specialist should have ensured the procedure was performed within four days as Ms. Doe had requested and that the second specialist should have admitted Ms. Doe to the hospital for an urgent cerclage. None of that was done.
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Angelle Morley suffered from gestational diabetes. She was a high risk for having a large baby. When she became exhausted during active labor, her treating obstetrician, Dr. Ralph Dauterive, applied forceps to the baby’s head.

The baby’s left shoulder became impacted on Morley’s pubic bone. It was alleged that Dr. Dauterive used lateral traction to delivery the baby who weighed more than 9 pounds at birth.

The child is now 7 years old and has been diagnosed as having brachial plexus injury, which left him permanently disfigured and with a dysfunctional left shoulder and hand.
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Rachel Harris was admitted to Truman Medical Center to deliver her child. She was given Pitocin over the course of approximately 6 hours. She was attended by a family practice physician, Dr. Kelly Sandri, and a resident-physician. Harris’s baby suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage resulting in cerebral palsy.

Harris, on her daughter’s behalf, sued the hospital and Dr. Sandri, alleging excessive administration of Pitocin, which led to the child’s brain damage and birth injury.

Harris also alleged that Dr. Sandri had not properly supervised the resident who also chose not to respond to signs of Pitocin overdose evident on the fetal monitor.
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At 31 weeks gestation, Linnoska Correa had a prenatal visit with obstetrician Dr. Luis Pardo Toro. Correa’s blood pressure during the visit was 136/86 mm Hg, which was appreciably higher than other blood pressure readings during her pregnancy.

The next day, Correa complained of severe stomach pain. She was admitted to the hospital HIMA-San Pablo in Puerto Rico where she was diagnosed as having severe preeclampsia. She was given antibiotics and magnesium sulfate.

Two days later, Correa’s daughter was delivered by cesarean section. The Apgar scores at the time of delivery were 7 at one minute and 8 at five minutes. Correa’s daughter, who is now 8, suffers from severe neurological injuries and quadriplegia, which necessitates 24-hour care daily.
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Ms. Doe, 30, had a history of cesarean section, stillbirth and miscarriage. When she became pregnant again, she consulted with a maternal-fetal medicine specialist. A plan was put in place for a cesarean delivery at 39 weeks gestation.

During the 37th week of Ms. Doe’s pregnancy, she went to a hospital emergency room complaining of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Although she was sent home, her pain persisted. Ms. Doe was admitted to the hospital two nights later.

The hospital’s hospitalist placed Ms. Doe on a fetal monitor, which changed from normal to indeterminate over a relatively short time span. Ms. Doe’s abdominal pain worsened, but she was discharged with instructions to follow up with her treating obstetrician in the morning.
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Jean-Marie Monroe-Lynch and her husband Aaron Lynch were unable to conceive. Monroe-Lynch received therapeutic donor insemination (TDI) services from the University of Connecticut Health Center’s Center for Advanced Reproductive Services. As a result, she became pregnant with twins.

Throughout the pregnancy, Jean-Marie and Aaron were told that their babies were healthy. At 37 weeks’ gestation, however, the Monroe-Lynch couple learned that their daughter had died in-utero.

The remaining twin, a boy, was then delivered by way of emergency cesarean section. The couple’s son, now age 6, suffers from catastrophic neurological and developmental disabilities.
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Tammy Esquivel was admitted to Contra Costa Regional Medical Center to deliver her baby. During her 26-hour labor, her contraction pattern became abnormal. She experienced intense abdominal pain. The fetal monitor showed a prolonged severe deceleration, prompting nurses to reposition Esquivel and discontinue Pitocin.

A new deceleration occurred. A special response team was then summoned to the bedside. Approximately an hour later, Esquivel’s daughter was delivered by emergency cesarean section.

The baby was later diagnosed as having suffered severe hypoxic-ischemic brain damage. The baby is now three. She requires a feeding tube and suffers from seizures among other medical problems.
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After delivering her second child at Roe Hospital, Ms. Doe, 32, experienced postpartum bleeding. Her pulse increased to 180 beats per minute. Her blood pressure plummeted to 74/44 mm Hg.

Ms. Doe’s treating obstetrician and the attending nurses tried unsuccessfully to stop the bleeding. They used a Bakri balloon and administered Hemabate solution. However, 90 minutes later, the doctor ordered a blood transfusion. Despite these efforts, Ms. Doe’s condition deteriorated and she later passed away.

She was survived by her husband and two minor children, including her newborn.
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