Medical Malpractice

I was pregnant and I was seeing an obstetrician recommended by a coworker and from the first visit I thought he was too quick, so much that you needed to have your questions writen in a paper before going to see him, because the visits only lasted from 1-5 min. top.
I'm 30 years old and this was my first pregnancy, I have policystic ovarian syndrome and had a treatment to become pregnant. My obstetrician knew this from the beginning, but never showed any special interest in me because of that. I had only one sonogram at 7 weeks in his office.
At 16 weeks I had a sonogram with a friend at a hospital and everything was great and I knew I was gonna have a girl, my friend took all measures and everything looked great. I had the Alpha Fetus test at 17 weeks and had an appointment for the results at week 19.
I started having back pains at week 18 and I went to see the doctor and he placed me on the metallic bed and recognized me (with his finger, don't know if that's correct) and then placed an speculum to see my cervix and told me I was dilating and to go to the hospital. He didn't call an ambulance or nothing and I went driving to the hospital. I got to the doctor's office around 10 am and to the hospital around 11 am. I starting having small contractions at 10:30 am. I was already crying and nervous and the doctor called the emergency room to let them know I was on the way. That didn't help and I spent almost two hours in a wheelchair wating to be admitted into the emergency room to have an "emergency sonogram". Then I started bleeding profusely and started screaming and crying and they entered me into a room. Put all kinds of medicine intravenous and took blood samples. I stopped bleeding by the time I got to the bed. I was in the emergency room bed almost till 3:30 pm before I saw a doctor. She recognized me again and gave the order for the sonogram. Around 4 pm they came to take me up to the sonogram room and I started contracting really strong and started to bleed again. By the time I got there, at the same time, my body startd to push on its own and I couldn't help (I tried very hard though) to loose the baby. It came out complete, inside its sack and everything. Anyways they made the sonogram and sent me back and once in the emergency room I started contracting again and most of the placenta came out. The doctor then came again and put some clamps on the piece of umbilical cord that was still showing and not completly out and I started waiting for my doctor to have a D and C. I went to pre-operatory around 5 or 6 pm and was given pitusin to accelerate contractions and stop the bleeding. The pain at that time was incredible together with my emotional distress of having lost my first child. My husband was there with me since 2 pm equaly distressed.
At the pre-operatory I was completly alone cause they didn't let any family in and they let me know that as soon as the doctor got to the hospital I was going to have the surgery. My doctor got there almost at 9 pm and I was at the verge of passing out from pain at that time. He performed the procedure and I they out me to sleep. When I woke up he wasn't there anymore and I was told I had to stay the night at the hospital because I lost a lot of blood. They dodn't give me anything to eat or drink for 12 hours and after that the chief nurse gave me some breakfast at her own responsability because she hadn't been able to contact my doctor. She told I was ready to leave but she needed to wait for his realease. I then called him from my cell phone around 11 am and he didn't even know who I was, I explained and he told I could leave and called the hospital. They released me almost at 1 pm.
When I went to the appointment with the doctor the next week, to follow up, he didn't remember who I was and didn't read his papers before talking to me cause he couldn't answer any question. He didn't have any answer for what has happenned and did no test at all.
Is there any base for a lawsuit
Additional information
Answer to the issues you mention:
1. The OB was very aware of the assisted fertility but never tretaed my pregnancy as a high risk one nor he reffered me to any other specialist.
2. I don't really know the appropiate way to treat a premature labor, but I was never told that´s what I was having until after I lost the baby, that the chief nurse told me.
3. The medicines included things to keep me hydrated and even mophine for the pain, but they never gave me any medicine or even the option to take a medicine to stop contractions. The OB never mention I could take a medicine for that, he just sent me to the hospital to have an emergency sonogram.
4. I was not bleeding when I got to the hospital and even after I bled the first time, it didn't last long and I did not bleed for 2 to 3 hours, so I don't think the decition was made, I just think they decided, without consulting me, since I was in my OB's office, to do nothing to stop the loss of the baby.
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Answers (4)

Michael E Hendrickson

Michael E Hendrickson

Contributor Level 7
The legal consideration in this case would be whether you received the care and treatment that more or less met the standard of care for your particular medical condiction(s) then prevailing in your community at the time such was provided.

It would seem that it would be advisable for you to consult with an attorney in that community who is experienced with medical malpractice issues and who could further advise you as to the above question as well as related issues.
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A. Devesh Tiwary

A. Devesh Tiwary Avvo Pro

Contributor Level 4
Summary: 30yo F with PCO, first pregnancy by assisted fertility (Clomid?), vaginal bleeding or premature labor at 18wk, fetal loss.
The fetus will not survive at that age outside the mother's body.

Issues: was the OB aware that yours was a high risk pregnancy (due to PCO and assisted fertility)? Many OBs refer these patients out to OBs specializing in high risk patients.
Was the premature labor treated appropriately? You mention "all kinds of medicine" - what were they? (Terbutaline, magnesium, ketorolac are common drugs given to stop labor).
Was the right decision made to sacrifice the fetus because you were at risk from bleeding?

To do: if you are serious about pursuing this, you need to get all the medical records from the OB and the hospital and have them reviewed by a physician and/or med mal attorney.

Devesh Tiwary, MD, JD
www.TiMedLaw.com
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John Elliott Leighton

John Elliott Leighton

Contributor Level 3
What you present here is probably complicated medically. I can see from what you say that the physician was not a particularly caring professional who took an interest in his/her patient as a person. That can often be true with physicians but it does not necessarily rise to the level of a medical malpractice case.
The first question is whether you were a high risk patient and, if so, whether the OB-GYN shoul dhav etaken other precautions or referred you out. It is unlikely that your being a high risk patient in itself would require referral out. The second question is whetherthe doctor treated you appropriately once you began to have preterm labor. That's the biggest issue here and one we can't answer without a lot more information. The third issue is what are your damages. Under Florida law, there is no claim for wrongful death of a nonviable fetus. True, you may have all the elements necessary to bring a medical malpractice case (duty owed to you, breach of the standard of care, and damages) but your damages will be limited in cases like this. Your best bet is to obtain the medical records and have them evaluated by someone willing to take on a malpractice case of this type.
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apg4778

It seems Robert Mayer Rubenstein, a lawyer who has a profile on this site, worked on a similar case (successfully). You should contact him.
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