Page 39 - OB Risks - Delivering the Goods (Part One)

SVMIC Obstetrics Risks: Delivering the Goods

also opined there was time to order additional units of
blood and insert the necessary IV access lines before

beginning the C-section, none of which was done.

The most glaring weakness in the defensibility of this lawsuit

was the clear lack of communication between the treating
obstetrician and members of the surgical team. There was no

evidence in the medical record of any communication between
the patient’s regular obstetrician, and the on-call obstetrician,

or the anesthesiology team regarding the patient’s placenta
previa and multiple C-sections. The medical record did not

include copies of the prenatal records which would have
contained this crucial information. Without the record, the only

way the members of the surgical team would have known
about the placenta previa would have been in conversation

with the patient’s treating obstetrician. The failure of the
treating obstetrician to communicate with the anesthesia team,

surgical nursing staff, and/or the on-call obstetrician deprived
the surgical and operative team of the ability to prepare for a

potentially life-threatening scenario. This failure to communicate
cost the patient her life and exposed all the patient’s healthcare

providers to liability.

Another difficulty in defending this claim was the absence of
documentation regarding any discussion about the risks of this

delivery when the placenta previa was identified or the options
available to the patient in case something went wrong. This is

another example of how communication and documentation of
that communication go hand-in-hand.

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