Missouri Obstetrical Settlement, VBAC-Pitocin $6.4 Million

In October 1998, shortly before trial in federal court in Kansas, Victor Bergman and Steve Six settled an obstetrical malpractice case for $1,600,000. The case arose from a combination of an unwarranted and traumatic forceps delivery by the obstetrician, and the failure of the pediatrician to diagnose and treat polycythemia in the infant in the immediate newborn period.

On June 2, 1994, the mother began experiencing labor pains and went to a Southwestern Kansas hospital where she was admitted late in the evening. Her labor progressed slowly throughout the night. The next day, the obstetrician augmented the labor with pitocin, resulting in a good labor pattern. Three hours later she was completely dilated and beginning to push.

After just a few pushes with contractions, the obstetrician made the decision, without medical justification, to intervene with forceps.

At his deposition the obstetrician claimed that the intervention was due to fetal distress, dysfunctional labor, left occiput posterior position ("LOP"), and maternal exhaustion. With the exception of the LOP position, none of these conditions were mentioned in the medical record or documented on the fetal heart monitor strip. Contrary to the physician's testimony, the mother, though tired, was willing and able to continue pushing toward delivery. The LOP position is not an indication for the use of forceps. The medical literature, and the defendants' own experts, supported the idea that in the vast majority of cases the fetus will rotate spontaneously out of the LOP position during the second stage of labor. This opportunity was eliminated by the obstetrician's precipitous intervention.

The forceps application took 23 minutes and was traumatic. The obstetrician worked for 15 minutes using Kielland forceps to effect a 135 degree rotation of the fetus from the LOP to the left occiput anterior position, during which time the fetal heart rate fell into a range of severe bradycardia.

He then changed to Tucker-McLean forceps and, with the assistance of a traction bar, he used a constant pull technique for eight minutes to finally effect delivery.

Plaintiff's expert conducted one of the few studies on how long it takes to complete a forceps procedure. The study revealed that, on average, a forceps procedure takes about four minutes from insertion of the first branch of the forceps until the entire delivery of the fetus is completed. Further, 97.5% of all forceps deliveries were completed within 11.3 minutes.

There was also substantial evidence that the forceps were traumatic and caused injury to the child's brain. The record documented bruising on both sides of the temples, the cheeks, the left ear and the eyebrow, which was