Hospital sued over birthing procedure

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Vacuum device used during labor; boy, now 11, suffers seizure and developmental problems

By Alex Bridges -- abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Daniel Bautista-Lorenzo suffers from seizures, developmental delays and chronic headaches.

Now the 11-year-old boy, who lives in Mexico, claims doctors at Winchester Medical Center caused his injuries by using a risky birthing procedure, according to a malpractice suit filed this week against the physicians and the hospital.

The plaintiff seeks $1.5 million in compensatory and $350,000 in punitive damages from doctors Mary C. McCoy and Daniel M. Freed as well as Winchester Medical Center, Valley Health and Winchester Obstetrics & Gynecology. Midlothian firm Powell & Parrish represents the plaintiff and his mother, Alma Lorenzo. They also seek a jury trial.

The boy lived in the city between his birth on Feb. 7, 2000 and 2006, except for periods spent undergoing treatment and rehabilitation in Charlottesville for birth-related injuries, according to the complaint filed in Winchester Circuit Court. The boy's parents moved back to Veracruz, Mexico, where he continued to live with his mother and other family members, the complaint states.

Alma Lorenzo went to the hospital for a near-term delivery the evening of Feb. 6, 2000, and gave birth to her son at 10:55 a.m. the next day, according to the complaint.

"During Bautista's birth there were no complications or indications that necessitated the use of a vacuum device," the complaint states. "However, McCoy instructed Freed to remove Bautista from the birth canal by performing a vacuum delivery procedure. Freed told McCoy that he had not performed this type of delivery before and he was uncomfortable with the procedure."

After the delivery, the newborn "exhibited the symptoms of apparent seizures, left sided blinking of the left eye, and involuntary movement of the left arm," the complaint states.

The infant was transferred to the Winchester Medical Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where a physician "assessed a right frontocerebral hemorrhagic infarction with a subdural hemorrhage," according to the complaint. Further scans showed "distinct abnormalities," the complaint states. Doctors transferred the infant to U.Va. Medical Center, where he exhibited seizures. Dr. John Jane, assisted by others, performed surgery on the infant Feb. 10, 2000, as a result of the "emergency nature" of the referral, according to the plaintiff.

"In the course of Bautista's recovery, the pediatric neurologists came to the consensus that the contusions resulting in the subdural hematoma and bleed in Bautista's brain were secondary to and caused by the trauma of the vacuum delivery by Freed while supervised by McCoy," the complaint states.

The plaintiff claims neither McCoy nor Freed had proper training in the use of the vacuum device prior to Feb. 6, 2000. The lawsuit alleges the doctors "had not read and did not understand the device's instructions, paying particular attention to the manufacturer's instructions regarding cup placement, vacuum strength to be used, cumulative duration of applications and number of recommended extraction attempts, and they were not educated about the complications of vacuum assisted delivery devices that have been reported."

"McCoy knew or should have known that Freed was untrained and unfamiliar with the vacuum device," the suit states.

The plaintiff also claims neither Freed nor McCoy informed the boy's Spanish-speaking parents of the risks of and alternatives to a vacuum delivery. Neither doctor obtained written, oral or informed consent from the parents to perform the procedure, the complaint states.

The lawsuit claims that, as a result of both doctors' actions, the plaintiff has suffered from injuries such as seizures that require medicinal treatment, irreversible neurological brain damage, language delays in both English and Spanish, chronic headaches, extreme hyperactivity and low inhibitions, a lack of focus, night terrors and sweats and uncontrollable crying.

McCoy currently works for Winchester Medical Center. Freed works at Highland Medical Center in Monterey. Records with the Virginia Department of Health Professions show no notices or orders on file with the state Board of Medicine for either McCoy or Freed. Both doctors report no malpractice claims paid in the past 10 years.