Re: A new twist on malpractice...
From: Robin (anonymous@obgyn.net)
Wed, 3 May 2000 18:34:54 -0500 (CDT)
Hi Andrea,
IMHO, this is totally disgusting! How could this woman NOT know she was
pregnant, especially since this wasn't her first pregnancy?!?!?!? I am
sure that the jury will wonder this same thing, among other things!
Believe me, there will be people on that jury that will question this
woman! With her history, and I am sure that will be relevant, she won't
win
But........I've been wrong before!
I do know of a case here with a Dr. where a woman tried to sue him for
her infertility!!!!! Didn't work!
--
Robin
At Wed, 3 May 2000, AMD wrote:
>
>Did ya'll know that a patient's unplanned pregancy could be your fault??
>(please read the sarcasm here!!!)
>
>A woman here is suing the doctors at a family practice clinic for
>failing to diagnose her pregnancy until it was too late for an abortion.
>She is claiming damages as the cost of raising the child (don't know the
>$$ amount asked).
>
>She claims to have seen the doctor on multiple occasions over a couple
>of months for her complaints of breast tenderness, bloating, and "funny"
>feelings in her abdomen. They finally sent her for a diagnostic US and
>found a baby. However, she claims that she wasn't told at the US that
>she was about 16-19 weeks, and didn't know how far along she was until
>the doctor told her at 24 weeks, which is 1 week too late for an
>abortion here. Supposedly she told the doctors earlier that she would
>want an abortion if her problems were due to being pregnant. There are
>reports that she has had 3-4 other abortions, in addition to her 2-3
>children. The child in question is now almost 3 years old.
>
>This case is actually going jury trial here. My initial reaction to
>this is total disgust. But when I think about it, I wonder if there
>actually was some sort of incompetence or malfeasance here. I would
>think any reasonably competent doctor could diagnose a 2nd-trimester
>pregnancy, but I also wonder why she didn't do a HPT if she had any
>suspicions of pregnancy. Heck, any time I've gone to the doctor with
>any sort of complaint between my neck and my knees, pregnancy is one of
>the top 3 things they want to rule out. What if the doctor deliberately
>withheld the information to prevent her from getting the abortion? That
>would certainly be unethical.
>
>So should doctors be held legally and financially responsible for
>diagnosing a pregnancy in a timely manner, as they would cancer or any
>other disease? Should the costs of raising a child be considered
>"damages" of medical malpractice? Even if damages aren't awarded, should
>a doctor be punished for such a substantial error (and how)? I know our
>BOMEX is virtually useless here when it comes to disciplining doctors.
>
>I find this case somewhat troubling. It certainly opens a big can of
>worms, particularly if the jury awards her a substantial sum of money.
>
>Just food for thought.
>
>AndreaD
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