When a pregnant woman appeared at her obstetrician’s office a few weeks before she was due to deliver a baby, complaining of headache, backache, hypertension and possible decreased fetal movement, she was told to return home, apply Bengay cream to her sore back and “eat bland food” the rest of the day. Those instructions, and the allegations that the on-call obstetrician failed to order follow-up testing, are substantial enough to allow the mother to bring punitive damages claims against the doctor and the OBGYN practice, a northeastern Pennsylvania judge has ruled.
The plaintiff, Carolina Hughes, has sued several Lackawanna County health care professionals, arguing their conduct caused her son to be born with a hypoxic brain injury that left him dependent on a feeding tube, and unable to walk, crawl or stand.
