LOGAN'S PONY CLUB
FOR CHILDREN WITH CEREBRAL PALSY Contact Logan
DISABILITY SPARKS $20M SUIT
By CARMELINA PRETE - The Hamilton Spectator
A Hamilton couple has filed a $19.8 million lawsuit against five doctors and St. Joseph's Hospital, claiming negligence in the prenatal care and birth of their son.
Mark and Laurie Whittle blame the doctors and hospital for the physical and mental limitations of their son, Logan Whittle, who was born with cerebral palsy in October 1996.
But the doctors and hospital say Logans medical problems are not their fault.
A statement of claim contains allegations that have not been proven in court.
According to the claim, Laurie Whittles pregnancy risk was upgraded one level after she experienced vaginal bleeding in July 1996.
"I cried. I said I was scared. Nobody listened to me," Whittle said in an interview yesterday "They're the professionals. Nobody told me l had to worry then."
In a letter responding to a complaint filed with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, her obstetrician Dr. David Small said her age, 36, and her weight, 106.5 kilograms (235 pounds), warranted the upgraded risk. Whittle became worried in October because she was at full term and the baby had stopped moving. An ultrasound exam on Oct. 25 showed she had a low amniotic fluid level, indicating the placenta was not functioning properly Small recommended induced labour.
Whittle was admitted to St. Joseph's Hospital that day and had labour induced the next morning. Shortly after doctors injected the labour-inducing drugs, the baby's heart rate dropped to 60 beats a minute.
Dr David Lamont, 59, the on-call. obstetrician, decided to perform a caesarian section. Between 12:35 p.m. and 1:10 p.m., Dr Lawrence Scholes and Dr Anne Wong tried at least seven times to administer anesthesia.
Both doctors say in letters responding to complaints filed to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, that an epidural anesthesia was difficult to administer because of Whittle's large frame. In her letter Wong says she told Whittle she would need a general anesthetic because of technical difficulties administering the needle. Whittle said she wanted the doctors to persist because she wanted to be awake during the delivery.
At 1:25 p.m., Wong administered the needle and the operation began. The statement of claim says the baby's heart rate dropped even lower to 50 beats per minute. Logan was not breathing when he was delivered from the womb at 1:38 p.m. The statement says it took 20 minutes to revive him.
He was born with severe hypoxia and meconium aspiration syndrome and has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy The boy who is almost three, suffers from seizures, mild hearing loss and limited motor co-ordination.
The Whittles claim the doctors and hospital were negligent because they failed to recognize the seriousness of the baby's distress and delayed performing a cesarean section and administering an anesthetic.
The couple said Logan requires a lot of care and they want assurances he'll be cared for.
"We want to be prepared," Mark Whittle said. "Logan's made some really great progress, but I'm afraid for his future."
In a statement of defense, St. Joseph's Hospital says it is not responsible for any alleged negligence. The doctors have not filed their statements.
Small, Whittle's obstetrician, was found negligent in handling the high risk birth of Michelle Fernick, born in 1992. The Fernicks won a civil lawsuit against Small in 1996 when a Toronto judge found the doctor negligent and ordered him to pay the Fernicks $290,000 in damages.