She alleged that it was the fault of the doctor who failed to put her on the list. I’m curious if she was told that she was at higher risk of complication. If she was informed of that and elected to do it anyway, I would call that personal responsibility.
Yes, this seems to be the weekly case of “its always someone else’s fault” for the problems people encounter. No wonder Malpractice premiums for OB/GYN’s is so high.
I agree with you. The only thing I can think of is that maybe she was already seeing her OB/GYN and never did any sort of updating of her information. Which, if never asked by her OB/GYN if there were any changes, would that put it back on the OB? Just some thoughts, I mean no disrespect.
I am confused too. I believe we should make individuals more responsible for their health too. The patient should have told the OB/GYN about her condition as well.
However, the Globe article does not answer the question raised by DW as to whether the plaintiff herself was warned (or should have been warned) about the risks of a normal delivery. Nor does it mention any payment to the plaintiff’s husband for loss of consortium. Perhaps the $35.4 million figure is the total of all payments.
One more example of medical malpractice being out of control and the patient not taking personal responsibility. At 39 years old the patient would have been at higher risk for a pregnancy, she also should have been aware after the tests that there was a brain abnormality and disclosed it to her OB/GYN even without it being on a database. Was she willing to terminate the pregnancy if she had known she was higher risk?
This is very unfortunate, but the case for malpractice seems pretty weak and doesn’t deserve a $34M payout. All of these cases set a bad precedent, increase healthcare expenses and make it more difficult for OB/GYNs to practice.
If I were the defense atty. I’d ask the jurors if they are each willing to pay $500 more per year per person for their insurance because that’s probably what all of these inflamed settlements are costing each of us. (if not more).
Just an observation – most of the comments on this article assume the OB was sued. That is not correct. The suit was filed against the medical practice and doctor that treated this woman years earlier and found the brain abnormality. That doctor was required to disclose her condition on some kind of medical list.
Does the woman bear any responsibility for her actions KY? If her doctor told her she was at risk, then don’t try to have a baby. It doesn’t matter if she was or wasn’t on a computerized list. She should have had some common sense.
Of course she does. I was only stating that the suit was not against the OB doc. Therefore, this particular suit does not explain why “Malpractice premiums for OB/GYN’s is so high.”
I agree with you. But, the article doesn’t say anything about the woman being notified there would be any risk in her getting pregnant. If she was notified by the first doctor and she did not relay this information to the her OB, than she should lose this suit. If that doctor did not notify her of the dangers (if there were any) and did not add her name to the mentioned list (which we know he did not do), than she has every right to sue. The article simply doesn’t provide enough information for us to determine whether or not it is a frivolous case. So, why take such a negative stance against this woman at this time?
While the original physician should have put her name in the database, unless that physician didn’t tell her about the abnormalities, I have a really hard time agreeing with this verdict. Nothing I’ve seen stated that she ever mentioned it to her OB/Gyn. Databases like those should be a supplement to, and not the primary way of determining a new patient’s medical history. If she knew about it and didn’t say anything, I think that’s on her, not the lack of a database entry.
I am confused. She was told of her medical condition but neglected to inform her OB/GYN and its the doctors fault?
Seems like there should’ve been some comparative negligence to mitigate some of those damages.
She alleged that it was the fault of the doctor who failed to put her on the list. I’m curious if she was told that she was at higher risk of complication. If she was informed of that and elected to do it anyway, I would call that personal responsibility.
Yes, this seems to be the weekly case of “its always someone else’s fault” for the problems people encounter. No wonder Malpractice premiums for OB/GYN’s is so high.
I agree with you. The only thing I can think of is that maybe she was already seeing her OB/GYN and never did any sort of updating of her information. Which, if never asked by her OB/GYN if there were any changes, would that put it back on the OB? Just some thoughts, I mean no disrespect.
I am confused too. I believe we should make individuals more responsible for their health too. The patient should have told the OB/GYN about her condition as well.
I’d call it human error and certainly NOT Intentional Negligence ~ last time I checked Dr’s were still human & NOT Omniscient!!!
You are all confused, because this article is a very short summary of the Boston Globe article. The Globe article has much more at https://www.bostonglobedotcom/metro/2015/05/07/walpole-woman-awarded-million-medical-malpractice-case-lawyer-says/yxUOo2yzRNBZtVOzZSdvjL/story.html.
However, the Globe article does not answer the question raised by DW as to whether the plaintiff herself was warned (or should have been warned) about the risks of a normal delivery. Nor does it mention any payment to the plaintiff’s husband for loss of consortium. Perhaps the $35.4 million figure is the total of all payments.
One more example of medical malpractice being out of control and the patient not taking personal responsibility. At 39 years old the patient would have been at higher risk for a pregnancy, she also should have been aware after the tests that there was a brain abnormality and disclosed it to her OB/GYN even without it being on a database. Was she willing to terminate the pregnancy if she had known she was higher risk?
This is very unfortunate, but the case for malpractice seems pretty weak and doesn’t deserve a $34M payout. All of these cases set a bad precedent, increase healthcare expenses and make it more difficult for OB/GYNs to practice.
If I were the defense atty. I’d ask the jurors if they are each willing to pay $500 more per year per person for their insurance because that’s probably what all of these inflamed settlements are costing each of us. (if not more).
Just an observation – most of the comments on this article assume the OB was sued. That is not correct. The suit was filed against the medical practice and doctor that treated this woman years earlier and found the brain abnormality. That doctor was required to disclose her condition on some kind of medical list.
Does the woman bear any responsibility for her actions KY? If her doctor told her she was at risk, then don’t try to have a baby. It doesn’t matter if she was or wasn’t on a computerized list. She should have had some common sense.
Of course she does. I was only stating that the suit was not against the OB doc. Therefore, this particular suit does not explain why “Malpractice premiums for OB/GYN’s is so high.”
I agree with you. But, the article doesn’t say anything about the woman being notified there would be any risk in her getting pregnant. If she was notified by the first doctor and she did not relay this information to the her OB, than she should lose this suit. If that doctor did not notify her of the dangers (if there were any) and did not add her name to the mentioned list (which we know he did not do), than she has every right to sue. The article simply doesn’t provide enough information for us to determine whether or not it is a frivolous case. So, why take such a negative stance against this woman at this time?
While the original physician should have put her name in the database, unless that physician didn’t tell her about the abnormalities, I have a really hard time agreeing with this verdict. Nothing I’ve seen stated that she ever mentioned it to her OB/Gyn. Databases like those should be a supplement to, and not the primary way of determining a new patient’s medical history. If she knew about it and didn’t say anything, I think that’s on her, not the lack of a database entry.