Maryland Supreme Court Reinstates $13 Million Cerebral Palsy Verdict-Informed Consent Expanded

Here is some pro-justice news of interest out of Maryland. The Maryland Supreme Court has reinstated a $13 Million verdict to a mother who gave birth to a baby (also a plaintiff in the suit) born with cerebral palsy. But, the important aspect of the case is an apparent expansion of the informed consent doctrine in Maryland. Essentially, the ruling stands for the proposition that a doctor must, in addition to informing a patient of the risks of surgery, also inform the patient of the potential consequences of not undergoing a particular medical procedure. In this case, the pregnant woman was having a "complicated" pregnancy and was not told that an optional, immediate Cesarean section could have resulted in a healthy baby.

The court held:

“The gravamen of an informed consent claim … is a…duty to communicate information to enable a patient to make an intelligent and informed choice after full and frank disclosure of material risk information and the benefit of data regarding a proposed course of medical treatment,”

Critics of the opinion feel that the decision unnecessarily expands the informed consent doctrine into the area of medical advice.

In September 2001, Peggy McQuitty and her son Dylan sued her obstetrician in Baltimore County Circuit Court, alleging he had breached the duty of informed consent.

The lawsuit, filed in September 2001, claimed that the doctor could have, but didn’t offer the mother the option of an immediate Cesarean section when she was 32 weeks pregnant, even though an ultrasound had revealed an abnormality in her uterus; only ten days later, she suffered a complete uterine abruption and required an emergency C-section.

The jury found in favor of the plaintiffs and awarded $13 Million; the trial judge granted the defense request for a JNOV. The trial judge and the Court of Appeals opined that informed consent did not cover a doctor’s inaction. Obviously, the highest court in Maryland disagreed:

“We shall hold that an informed consent claim may be asserted by a patient in the absence of a battery or affirmative violation of the patient’s physical integrity, because it is the duty of a healthcare provider to inform a patient of material information, or information that a practitioner knows or ought to know would be significant to a reasonable person in the patient’s position in deciding whether or not to submit to a particular medical treatment or procedure…”

Amen to that. Lawsuit Financial congratulates the plaintiffs and their dedicated attorneys on their hard-fought victory. Readers may notice that this case was originally filed in September 2001. The case was tried and twice appealed. It has taken eight long years to finally resolve in the plaintiff’s favor. Contentious cases are easily and persistently fought by the defense because insurance is usually involved; deep pocket insurance companies pay the freight and "delay, deny, confuse and refuse" in an attempt to persuade the plaintiff to settle too early and for too little compensation.

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