Mom-to-be Overlooked by Doctor Who Could Not Manage His Patients — Plaintiffs Successful at Trial — Recover Millions for Family of Severely Disabled Child
A Toronto area doctor breached the standard of care when he allowed one of his Richmond Hill patients to deliver her baby without even examining her.
Mom’s pregnancy was normal, besides an ultrasound which showed the fetus to be in the wrong position for delivery. Another expectant Mom had been admitted to the hospital earlier that morning with a history of heavy bleeding.
At 2:50 a.m. the obstetrician was aware that two high-risk patients with abnormal pregnancies had been admitted to the hospital. He failed to attend at the hospital to see either patient until 4:10 a.m. By this time, he had met neither patient, knew nothing about their histories, diagnose or plan treatment for either patient until he examined them.
By 3:30 a.m., the medical care needs of both patients collided. They both required emergency Caesarean sections (C-sections). At 3:40 a.m. the obstetrician knew that he was faced with performing two caesarean sections. Since he had not seen either patient he did not know which one would be the more urgent situation. At that point in time he had the opportunity to call in a second surgical team but failed to do so.
At 4:40 a.m. the obstetrician commenced a C-section on the other woman. When he was finished, he performed a C-section on Mom without having ever examined her, an extreme breach of the standard of care.
The baby was not moving or breathing at birth. He did not breathe spontaneously until he was 25 minutes old, and soon developed seizures. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy with an associated movement disorder (choreoathetosis and dystonia) and severe dysarthria, or speech impairment.
Sommers Roth & Elmaleh Professional Corporation has over 40 years of experience in medical malpractice litigation in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, and across Canada.
If you or a loved one have experienced a medical incident causing an injury, click here to get a free consultation from our expert panel.
Disclaimer: Past results of cases and recoveries by our medical malpractice/medical negligence lawyers against hospitals, doctors, midwives, nurses and other healthcare professionals are not necessarily indicative of future results. The amounts recovered and other litigation outcomes will vary according to the facts in individual cases.
