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Midwife faces five counts of unprofessional conduct in brain damage caseFrom: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)Thu Apr 29 08:28:44 2004
Legal Issues April 29, 2004 2004 APR 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The state of Vermont has charged a Rutland County midwife with five counts of "unprofessional conduct," after one child she helped deliver died and another had brain damage. The Office of Professional Regulation accused Roberta Devers-Scott of Mendon on April 8, 2004, of "failing to comply" with regulations for higher-risk births, "filing false reports or records," "taking improper advantage" of a student and practicing without a license. State regulators are seeking to have Devers-Scott's license revoked. Regulators suspended her license February 20, and Devers-Scott sued the state April 2 for taking too long to file formal charges while she cannot practice. "I am pleased that they have been filed now," said Lisa Chalidze, a Benson attorney representing Devers-Scott, though she had not yet read the charges. "It shows the lawsuit has already been effective." After laboring with Devers-Scott, both mothers delivered at the hospital. "We are alleging that the care and practice that was given to the mothers prior to them ever entering the hospital was substandard," said Edward Adrian, prosecutor for the Office of Professional Regulation. The charges allege that Devers-Scott attempted to help a woman deliver a baby vaginally after a prior Caesarean section, without following state rules governing those higher-risk procedures: having a second midwife present, contacting a doctor, arranging with a hospital for help if there were complications, and obtaining the patient's informed consent. The baby, delivered at Porter Hospital in Middlebury, "was born with respiratory problems" and has brain damage, the charges say. In the second case, a woman waited 3 days after contractions began for Devers-Scott to help her deliver, the state alleges. She pushed for 8 hours before going to Rutland Regional Medical Center, the charges say. The child lived less than 2 hours, the state alleges. The charges also say Devers-Scott exercised undue influence on a midwifery student attending the second birth. The student, who had contracted for 2 years of instruction, told Devers-Scott "that she wanted out," the state alleges. Devers-Scott "threatened to sue" the student for $25,000, the charges say, ultimately agreeing to accept $1,200 "in exchange" for the student's signature on an affidavit describing the birth she witnessed. The state also alleges that Devers-Scott reviewed the student's notes from the birth, and that she "reconstructed" them. The last of the five counts alleges that Devers-Scott provided prenatal care to a woman where she "is not licensed to practice." This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2004, Women's Health Weekly via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net. http://www.obgyn.net/newsheadlines/womens_health-Legal_Issues-20040429-69.asp
-- art fougner, md ich bin ein New Yorker
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