Alleged Failure to Obtain Informed Consent, Mother’s Death after C-Section; $4.5M Verdict

​A North Carolina jury has awarded $4.5 million in a malpractice verdict against an obstetrician who was accused of negligence in performing a cesarean delivery that resulted in the mother's death and failure to properly obtain informed consent for the procedure, according to a report published October 17, 2014, in the Winston-Salem Journal (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). The physician allegedly cut the mother's small bowel and failed to properly examine her upper abdomen before closing the incision during the cesarean delivery. The mother complained of serious abdominal pain and nausea and was unable to have a bowel movement for the next three days. She was allegedly released from the hospital without having any blood tests or lab work done to investigate her symptoms. The plaintiff said that the physician did not check on the patient before she was discharged.