Botched Abortion Lawsuit
Woman Receive $50,000 For Perforated Uterus, Unable To Bear Future Children
Woman permanently damaged by abortion gets $50,000 for pain, suffering
By Rae Theodore / Westlaw Litigation Reporter
A Louisiana woman whose second trimester abortion went awry leaving her unable to have future natural child births will receive $50,000 for pain and suffering, according to a state appeals court ruling.
The Louisiana Court of Appeal decision affirms a judgment notwithstanding the verdict by Civil District Court Judge Nadine M. Ramsey. The judge's $50,000 award overturned an Orleans Parish jury verdict that determined the abortion was slipshod but had not damaged the woman.
The appeals court said the jury had been "clearly wrong" on the issue of damages.
The case dates to May 1990 when Amanda Henderson visited the office of Dr. Max Pailet to terminate a 14-week pregnancy.
Pailet stopped the procedure when Henderson complained of extreme pain. Later that same day, Henderson was taken to Charity Hospital, a Louisiana medical facility, for treatment of abortion-related bleeding, the appellate court opinion reported.
It was later discovered that Pailet violated the applicable standard of care when he attempted to perform a two-step abortion procedure in a single step and perforated Henderson's uterus. During surgery at Charity Hospital, Henderson received a blood transfusion, which she said later caused her to worry about contracting AIDS, according to the appellate court opinion.
Henderson consequently filed suit against Pailet and state health care providers at Charity. The consolidated cases went to trial in June 2003 in Orleans Parish. Following four days of testimony, jurors found that while Pailet violated the applicable standard of care, the breach did not cause any damage to Henderson, whose future births will now have to be by caesarian section.
Judge Ramsey then stepped in with her judgment notwithstanding the verdict and awarded Henderson $50,000 for pain and suffering. Pailet appealed.
Based on the evidence, the Court of Appeal held that Henderson suffered damages when Pailet perforated her uterus. The appeals court noted that the procedure destroyed Henderson's ability to have natural childbirths and caused her severe pain and suffering and mental anguish, and that the blood transfusion caused her to have AIDS-related anxiety.
Henderson v. ABC Insurance Co. et al., Nos. 2004-CA-0172, 2004-CA-0173 and 2004-CA-0174, 2005 WL 159594 (La. Ct. App. Jan. 19, 2005).
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Posted by Editor at February 17, 2005 08:58 AM
