A woman who gave birth to a daughter suffering from a number of disabilities has brought a medical malpractice lawsuit against her doctor accusing him of improperly diagnosing her pregnancy as ectopic and giving her drugs that harmed the fetus.
According to ABC News, then-29-year-old Rachel Schoger had suffered three miscarriages before becoming pregnant for a fourth time, and decided to get additional information from her doctors. After a series of tests, her doctor determined that her pregnancy was “ectopic,” meaning that the pregnancy occurred outside the womb – likely in one of the fallopian tubes – and that the fetus could not survive.
The doctor recommended that Schoger take methotrexate, a chemotherapy drug, to kill the fetus and save her fallopian tube from harm. She obliged, and received two high-dose shots of methotrexate the tissue.
After feeling worried about the process, Schoger insisted upon receiving a follow-up ultrasound upon going into the doctor’s office for a second round of treatments the following week, The test revealed that her doctor had misdiagnosed the pregnancy, and that the fetus was in the uterus where it belonged.
Schoger decided to move forward with the pregnancy and stop the methotextrate injections. She eventually gave birth to her daughter Seraphine in 2006. However, doctors quickly discovered that she was born with no rectum, vagina, or uterus, and had a malformed spinal cord as well. In the medical malpractice lawsuit, Schoger claims that Seraphine’s birth injury stemmed from methotrexate exposure while in the womb.
While Seraphine underwent multiple surgeries and was able to survive, she will be unable to have children and her bulging spinal cord could limit her ability to walk in the future.
If you or a loved one have suffered through great consequences that were caused by a doctor’s negligence or diagnostic error, contact Sokolove Law today to learn more about the legal options that are available.