Medical Verdicts

Were chart entries fabricated after woman bled to death?


 

Bronx County (NY) Supreme Court

Following a cesarean delivery and bilateral tubal ligation, a 43-year-old woman died due to hemorrhage.

Her husband, in suing, claimed his wife was left unattended for nearly 2 hours after surgery, during which time she bled to death. He questioned the validity of entries documenting 2 visits in that period, noting that the writing was unusually small and cramped, as if to fit under a later entry.

The defense claimed the chart was accurate and appropriate care administered.

  • The case settled for $2.3 million.
The cases in this column are selected by the editors of OBG Management from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts, with permission of the editor, Lewis Laska, of Nashville, Tenn (www.verdictslaska.com). While there are instances when the available information is incomplete, these cases represent the types of clinical situations that typically result in litigation.

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