Doctor to pay patient $400,000 over unplanned pregnancy
The obstetrician put the clip in the wrong spot during a tubal ligation, a failure identified by a GP, the NSW District Court finds
A doctor has been ordered to pay $400,000 to a patient who became pregnant following a tubal ligation, with a GP obstetrician later finding a Filshie clip had not been properly placed.
The NSW District Court found the patient has lasting psychological and physical adverse impacts following the birth of her unplanned fourth child after the tubal ligation performed by the Wagga Wagga-based obstetrician and gynaecologist.
Judge Leonard Levy found the obstetrician breached her duty of care to the patient by straying from the manufacturer’s standard pathway “for no sound reason” when placing the clip on the left tube.
The mother of three had requested a tubal ligation from her regular family doctor, a GP obstetrician.
