Oregon

Kathy Brooks
Portland, OR

Kathy Brooks was four weeks overdue when her obstetrician attempted to induce labor for the second time. Before starting induction, Kathy's doctor decided that if she could not bring about a natural labor, she would perform a cesarean section. Kathy was given Pitocin to start contractions, but the labor never progressed. As the hours passed, the signs were becoming clear that the baby was distressed and emergency delivery would soon be necessary. The labor continued for 24 hours. The doctor told Kathy that if labor wasn't successful in the first day, a C-section would be performed. Overnight, however, a key test result revealed that the baby was not doing well. The inducement continued for yet another day. Monitoring showed that the baby's heart had decelerated and that the baby was under stress. A nurse reported the findings to her supervisor. The doctor continued to reassure Kathy that her baby was fine.

After 48 hours of labor, an anesthesiologist came in to adjust Kathy's epidural. He assessed the baby's condition and declared that he wouldn't touch Kathy until the baby was stabilized. A medical team immediately took action, performing an emergency C-section and delivering Kathy's son, Jerry.

Kathy and Jerry were transferred to another hospital, where she received emergency care and where Jerry was placed in neonatal intensive care. Jerry was born with severe cerebral palsy because of the prolonged labor. This case was settled and the settlement was placed in trust for Jerry's ongoing care.

Steve Brown
Portland, OR

Steve Brown was diagnosed with a pituitary tumor that was pressing on his optic nerves and causing vision loss. His doctor performed a common procedure to remove the tumor, entering Steve's head through the nose. Steve's doctor informed him that 90 percent of the tumor was removed. In fact, the surgeon had only removed 10 percent of the tumor. A CAT scan revealed that the mass was still present, but the doctor misread the scan. Steve's vision was restored, but it again was affected as the tumor grew back to its original size. Another surgery was scheduled using the same procedure.

While in intensive care recovering from surgery, Steve's vision continued to deteriorate. A physician's assistant monitoring Steve refused to contact the on-call neurosurgeon Instead, Steve's vision loss was allowed to progress until morning. By the time a neurosurgeon assessed Steve's condition and performed emergency surgery, he was permanently and irreversibly blind.

August 2004