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Leatherwood v. Ehlinger6/18/2002
PUBLISHED
Plaintiffs Nelly Leatherwood (Ms. Leatherwood) and James David Cooper (Mr. Cooper), individually and as guardian ad litems for Amelia Janene Cooper (Amelia), filed this action on 18 May 1998 alleging defendant was negligent in the medical care and treatment he provided during the delivery of Amelia. Defendant denied liability and a trial commenced on 27 November 2000. At the end of plaintiffs' evidence, defendant moved to strike the testimony of plaintiffs' medical expert, Dr. Stephen Jones (Dr. Jones), and for a directed verdict. The trial court denied both of these motions. At the close of all the evidence, defendant again moved to strike Dr. Jones' testimony and for a directed verdict. The trial court denied the motion to strike but granted defendant a directed verdict on 22 December 2000.
The pertinent facts viewed in a light favorable to plaintiffs are summarized as follows: Defendant is a physician practicing as an obstetrician gynecologist at the Asheville Women's Medical Center (AWMC). In February 1992, Ms. Leatherwood became pregnant with Amelia and began prenatal treatment with AWMC under the care of Drs. Hill and Callahan. During this time, Ms. Leatherwood was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Additionally, thirty-six weeks into pregnancy, her baby's fetal weight was estimated at eight and one-half pounds.
On the morning of 12 October 1992, Ms. Leatherwood experienced preliminary stages of labor and was admitted to a birthing room at Memorial Mission Hospital in Asheville. With her were her mother, Merceidith Bacon (Ms. Bacon), and Mr. Cooper. The nurse present, Janet McKendrick (Nurse McKendrick), took Ms. Leatherwood's vital signs and attached a fetal monitor across her stomach.
After her labor began to intensify, defendant entered the birthing room and informed Ms. Leatherwood that Dr. Hill was unavailable and that he would be delivering her baby. This was the first contact Ms. Leatherwood had with defendant. According to Ms. Leatherwood and Ms. Bacon, at no time did defendant make any effort to estimate the baby's fetal weight. Ms. Leatherwood then started to push but experienced difficulty with the delivery. To assist her, defendant instructed Ms. Bacon to insert mineral oil inside Ms. Leatherwood's vagina. When this failed to produce Amelia's head, defendant directed Ms. Bacon and Nurse McKendrick to stand on either side of Ms. Leatherwood "pulling knees back against her chest." This maneuver also proved unsuccessful so defendant used a vacuum extractor to deliver Amelia's head.
Although Amelia's head had been produced, Ms. Leatherwood was unable at this point to deliver the rest of Ameila's body. Defendant determined that this was due to shoulder dystocia; a condition in which the baby's shoulder is impacted behind the mother's pubic bone thereby preventing delivery of the rest of the body. To correct the problem, defendant first applied "lateral traction" on Amelia's head attempting to roll her shoulder. According to Ms. Bacon's testimony, defendant pulled "the baby's head downward toward the floor in a left to right . . . motion . . . several times . . . tugging very hard." He next pulled "the baby's head which facing [Ms. Leatherwood's] left interior thigh . . . away from that thigh in a backwards motion, with the head going back towards the interior right thigh." Finally, as recounted by Ms. Bacon, defendant grasped Amelia's head "[bringing it] toward the pubic bone in a right to left motion . . . twisting it upward."
Despite these efforts, Ms. Leatherwood still was unable to deliver the rest of Amelia's body. Nurse McKendrick then straddled Ms. Leatherwood and placed her hands on the upper portion o
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