Med Mal Case: Forceps Delivery

[bbc586]

A 29-year-old woman G2P1 at 41 weeks gets induced.
- failure to progress
- develops fever
- OP presentation, multiple attempts at forceps rotation
- eventual C-section
- severe asphyxia, baby dies a few weeks later

Attending and hospital are sued, resident is not specifically named.

*Always keep in mind we are just reading the plaintiffs side, so take all the accusations with a grain of salt*

Read the OBGYN (plaintiff) expert witness opinion at the link.

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[anonperson]

A 29-year-old woman G2P1 at 41 weeks gets induced.
- failure to progress
- develops fever
- OP presentation, multiple attempts at forceps rotation
- eventual C-section
- severe asphyxia, baby dies a few weeks later

Attending and hospital are sued, resident is not specifically named.

*Always keep in mind we are just reading the plaintiffs side, so take all the accusations with a grain of salt*

Read the OBGYN (plaintiff) expert witness opinion at the link.

Bad case.

At least an hour passed from when they claim the Cat 3 tracing until delivery. Not good.

Rotational forceps shouldn't be done in the current legal and training environment.

General issues I see. Inducing at 41 weeks in my experience is a crapshoot.

The placenta is only meant to last for so long. The amount of times I see oligo or meconium in these 41 week inductions and questionable tracings just confirms this thought.

Main takeaway is: Performing a c section is not a moral failing. Who cares what your c section rate is? I guarantee the resident and attending thought "only a little bit longer and we can get a vaginal delivery."

In the current legal environment, any damage to mom and baby is not acceptable and malpractice lawyers are lining up to take you to court for delayed c section.

 

[BigTumor]

Bad case.

At least an hour passed from when they claim the Cat 3 tracing until delivery. Not good.

Rotational forceps shouldn't be done in the current legal and training environment.

General issues I see. Inducing at 41 weeks in my experience is a crapshoot.

The placenta is only meant to last for so long. The amount of times I see oligo or meconium in these 41 week inductions and questionable tracings just confirms this thought.

Main takeaway is: Performing a c section is not a moral failing. Who cares what your c section rate is? I guarantee the resident and attending thought "only a little bit longer and we can get a vaginal delivery."

In the current legal environment, any damage to mom and baby is not acceptable and malpractice lawyers are lining up to take you to court for delayed c section.

This is insightful and I agree. esp the part about rotational forceps and I am not generally anti-forceps.