Tulsa County (Okla) District Court
A 20-year-old woman presented to a hospital after suffering a missed abortion.
A resident, supervised by an Ob/Gyn, attempted to perform a dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, but was unsuccessful in removing the fetus. Ten days later, the fetus was expelled from the patient’s body while she was at home. She subsequently underwent a second D&C.
In suing, the woman claimed she never consented to have a resident conduct the D&C. She also argued that the procedure was negligently performed.
The doctors maintained that the patient was told a resident would be involved. They further noted that not being able to remove the fetus is a known risk of the D&C procedure.
- The jury returned a defense verdict.