Legal Question in Medical Malpractice in Pennsylvania

retained placenta which caused hemoraging and loss of 2 liters of blood

Right after my daughter was born in July 2000, the placenta would not detach from my uterius. My doctor tried pulling on the umbilical cord to see if that would get it to detach.That just caused the placenta to start tearing into pieces. She then asked if an anestheisalogist was in the hospital. When the nurses told her that they had to page one she decieded that I did not need to go into the operating room to make sure that all of the placenta was removed. Instead she just continued to scrap the inside of my uterius in the delivery room. She thought that she got it all.

10 days after I gave birth, I started to hemorage. I lost 2 liters of blood. I ended up in ICU for 10 days with and infection in my uterius from a piece

of the placenta that was retained. This infection ultimatly ended up in my blood stream. I recieve 5 units of blood and hugh amounts of antibiotics. I

know that this happened all most a year ago, but I was wondering if there was anything that I could do.


Asked on 5/16/01, 2:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marc Pachtman Pachtman Law Offices

Re: retained placenta which caused hemoraging and loss of 2 liters of blood

There are many issues raised by the story you describe.

Did a doctor tell you the retained placenta caused the bleeding and the infection?

Would that doctor be willing to testify in court that the retained placenta caused the problems that you experienced?

Has the retained placenta or the infection that resulted caused any serious or permanent medical problems?

What are those problems?

If it is only 1 year, it is not yet a problem but you should act immediately.You must collect all of the medical records and locate an expert who is qualified and willing to testify at trial. If there is negligence by the doctor and if there are serious or permanent medical problems that resulted from that negligence, you must act promptly to seek legal counsel.

Marc Pachtman

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Answered on 6/22/01, 12:20 am


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