A woman engaged the professional services of an obstetrician to give her prenatal care and to deliver her baby. On October 24, 2002, the woman was admitted to the emergency room because she was already in labor. The labor proceeded normally until the second stage of labor when the woman was instructed by her doctor to push the baby out and the mother had difficulty bearing down. The mother was not pushing hard enough so the doctor tried to suction the baby out. When this also failed, the doctor told the woman that her baby will have to be delivered via cesarean section but the woman refused.
The doctor then obtained the woman’s consent to deliver her baby using forceps. But before the forceps could be locked, the baby popped out. It had a faint heartbeat but it was eventually declared dead after 45 minutes of trying to revive the baby.
The woman then sued the obstetrician and the hospital in behalf of her infant. She filed a suit in damages for medical malpracticefor the personal injury sustained by her infant that died as a result of the negligence and fault of the obstetrician. She also sued for the wrongful death of the child. She also sued for her own personal injury and she sued for her own emotional distress.