Documentation Error: Test Results Recorded Incorrectly, Infant Born with Cystic Fibrosis, $3.3M Awarded

A North Carolina couple was awarded more than $3 million following arbitration of a medical malpractice lawsuit against providers who failed to inform the prospective mother that she was a carrier of cystic fibrosis before she underwent in vitro fertilization, according to a report from the August 2012 Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements, and Experts. The plaintiff mother visited the defendant physician and his professional association to conceive a child using in vitro fertilization. She underwent prescreening tests, including cystic fibrosis screening. Although the screening indicated that she was a carrier of cystic fibrosis, a nurse incorrectly recorded the positive cystic fibrosis results as normal, and the physician did not notice the error. Once the plaintiff became pregnant, the physician referred her to an obstetrician/gynecologist, who ordered additional screening tests. This time, the plaintiff was noted as being a carrier of cystic fibrosis. Her husband was tested and was also identified as a carrier.