Pregnant Mother Loses Baby After Doctor Dismisses Concerns of Bleeding
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By
Brett H. Oppenheimer, PLLC
At 36 weeks of pregnancy this 23 year old mother called her OB-GYN because
she had started bleeding. The doctor explained that her checkup had been
the prior day and that the doctor was comfortable that she was fine. Later
that day the pregnant patient called again because she had cramping in
addition to the bleeding. Once again, the doctor said he was comfortable
that the patient was fine because he had checked her the day before. The
bleeding and cramping continued for 2 or 3 days. Soon thereafter (8 days
after the initial phone call) the pregnant patient began to hemorrhage.
Although an emergency Caesarean Section (C-Section) was performed this
family lost the baby due to a placental abruption. The main question in
this case is whether or not the abruption would have been seen on an ultrasound
had the OB-GYN brought mom into the office at the time of her initial
concerns of bleeding and cramping.
