{"id":7624,"date":"2014-03-21T09:52:16","date_gmt":"2014-03-21T09:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=7624"},"modified":"2014-03-21T09:52:16","modified_gmt":"2014-03-21T09:52:16","slug":"woman-sues-for-wrongful-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/03\/woman-sues-for-wrongful-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman sues for wrongful pregnancy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"397039160_499945\"<\/a>An Illinois woman is suing her doctor for “wrongful pregnancy,\u201d claiming a botched tubal ligation led to the birth of a daughter with sickle cell \u00a0disease.<\/p>\n

Cynthia Williams, a 40-year-old mother of three, only had one ovary and believed she couldn’t get pregnant because the tube tethering it to her womb had been tied \u2013- or so she thought.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was livid,\u201d Williams said, recalling the \u201cimpossible\u201d blue line on the pregnancy test, quickly confirmed by the flutter of a heartbeat on a sonogram. \u201cI just lost it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams was 12 years old when she lost her right ovary to a cyst. On the same day, she discovered that she carried the sickle cell trait -\u2013 a genetic abnormality that could cause a dangerous blood disorder in her kids.<\/p>\n

The man Williams later married found out that he, too, carried the trait after the couple\u2019s second son was born with sickle cell disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s when we decided not to have more children,\u201d said Williams, who four years later became pregnant while using the rhythm method of birth control. There was a 25 percent chance that the baby would have sickle cell disease, so the Williams\u2019 were relieved when she was born a carrier instead.<\/p>\n

Williams started taking the birth control pill, but high blood pressure pushed her to find a more permanent option.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point, I just wanted to get my tubes tied,\u201d Williams said. She had the sterilization surgery in December 2008. Six months later, she was staring at the sonogram in disbelief.<\/p>\n

Her fourth child, Kennadi, was born in February 2010 with sickle cell disease.
\n<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Now, Williams and her husband, Kenneth, are suing Dr. Byron Rosner of Reproductive Health Associates for \u201cwrongful pregnancy,\u201d claiming that he \u201cfailed to perform an adequate or appropriate tubal ligation,\u201d resulting in an unplanned pregnancy and the birth of a sick child, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Without a right ovary, Williams only needed her left Fallopian tube tied. But Rosner “tied,” “excised” and “cauterized” Williams’ right tube, according medical records obtained by ABCNews.com.<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 left tube was intact and \u201cnormal in appearance\u201d at the time of Kennadi\u2019s birth, according to medical records from her C-section.<\/p>\n

Williams is seeking damages for \u201cpersonal injury to her, emotional distress, and for lost wages\u201d as well as \u201cthe extraordinary expenses\u201d she expects to incur raising Kennadi, according to court documents.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Kennadi with all my heart, and that\u2019s the honest-to-God truth,\u201d said Williams. \u201cBut it\u2019s been a life change for everybody \u2013- my whole family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The whole family helped raise Kennadi, since Williams went into congestive heart failure shortly after the caesarean delivery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is right after I have a baby that I still can\u2019t believe I had,\u201d she said, recalling her two-week stay in intensive care and her nine-month leave of absence from work. \u201cI couldn\u2019t be with my baby because I was too sick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams recovered, but Kennadi, now 4, faces a lifetime of health problems. Sickle cell disease makes her normally round and squishy red blood cells C-shaped and hard. Instead of flowing smoothly through her blood vessels, her misshaped cells become stuck, causing pain and raising the risk of infections and stroke.<\/p>\n

Though tubal ligation is considered a \u201cpermanent method of birth control,\u201d as many as 37 per 1,000 women become pregnant within 10 years after the procedure, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. As a result, Williams struggled to find a lawyer that was willing to take her case.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a baby after a sterilization procedure is something that happens,\u201d said Williams\u2019 attorney, Beverly Spearman, who initially rejected the case but reconsidered when she learned that one of Williams\u2019 ovaries was missing. \u201cWhen I found out more about the whole story, I said, \u2018OK, let\u2019s move forward. Let\u2019s see where this goes.'”<\/p>\n

Spearman soon discovered that the wrongful pregnancy suit, filed in November 2010, was the first of its kind in Illinois. Rosner\u2019s attorney moved to dismiss the suit, arguing that Illinois law does not allow parents to recover costs associated with raising a child born with a genetic defect after an unsuccessful sterilization procedure. But an appellate court ruled February 26, 2014, that the case could move forward.<\/p>\n

Rosner\u2019s attorney, Todd Stalmack, said that he and his client are analyzing their options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respectfully disagree with [the appellate court\u2019s] decision,\u201d Stalmack told ABCNews.com, raising the possibility of an appeal to the Supreme Court of Illinois.<\/p>\n

Rosner maintains that he \u201ccomplied with the standard of care\u201d in performing Williams\u2019 tubal ligation, according to Stalmack.<\/p>\n

Williams, now 44, said she\u2019s \u201ctired all the time\u201d raising her rambunctious and medically-needy 4-year-old.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s had to pitch in,\u201d said Williams, whose other children are 25, 21 and 17. \u201cIt\u2019s been hard to wrap my mind around having this child when my other children are grown.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fair,\u201d she added. \u201cShe is the absolute love of my life, but it\u2019s hard. Sometimes people think I\u2019m her grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Source: ABC news<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Illinois woman is suing her doctor for “wrongful pregnancy,\u201d claiming a botched tubal ligation led to the birth of a daughter with sickle cell \u00a0disease. Cynthia Williams, a 40-year-old mother of three, only had one ovary and believed she couldn’t get pregnant because the tube tethering it to her womb had been tied \u2013- […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":7625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[7],"yoast_head":"\nWoman sues for wrongful pregnancy - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. 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