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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.
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Shamberg, Johnson & Bergman
John E. Shamberg
Lynn R. Johnson
Victor A. Bergman
John M. Parisi
Steven G. Brown
Stephen N. Six
4551 West 107th Street,Suite 355
Overland Park, KS 66207 913-642-0600 One Security Plaza
Suite M - 4
Kansas City, KS 66101
Scarritt Arcade Building 819 Walnut Street, Suite 205 Kansas
City, MO 64106
www.sjblaw.com
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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
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