DISCLAIMER: Please note that every case is different and these verdicts and settlements, while accurate, do not represent what we may obtain for you in your case.
Failure to Diagnose Neural Tube Defect
Plaintiff presented for a 17 1/2 week utrasound which included a scan for fetal anomalies. A report was generated subsequent to the ultrasound exam which stated that the fetal anatomy was nor- mal. In fact, the still images that were produced from the real-time study and presented to the radiologist by the ultrasound tech did not have transverse views of the cerebellum nor the posterior fossa, nor the coriplexus, nor the lateral ventricles of the atria. There were no transverse views of the spine, either, which would have permitted evaluation of the anterior and posterior aspects (If each level of the spine. The plaintiff's pregnancy' produced a child with an open neural defect with an Arnold Chiari II deformation that., had the ultrasound tech and radiologist been reasonably prudent on the date of the exam and looked at the appropriate neuro-anatomy, they would have seen indirect markers of spina bifida in the hind brain which would include obliteration of the cisterna magna and the banana sign, i.e., a banana-shaped cerebellum. Had the exam' been performed pursuant to the standard of care and these markers noted in the report, the patient would have terminated the pregnancy. An equal contribution by the ultrasound tech and radiologist made up the settlement.
