Bacon v. Mercy Hosp. of Ft. Scott

The opinion of the court was delivered by This is a medical malpractice action brought by Jessica Bacon,
a minor, and Charles and Cristine Bacon, her parents, against
Mercy Hospital of Ft. Scott, Dr. Thomas Pirotte, and Dr. Colette
Fleming. A claim against Dr. Gary Grimaldi was dismissed and an
action against Newman-Young Clinic under the doctrine of
respondeat superior was settled and dismissed with prejudice. The
Bacons appeal from the trial court's order granting summary
judgment to defendants. The facts reveal that in 1980 Cristine Bacon was in her second
pregnancy. It was uneventful until the last minutes before
delivery. Mrs. Bacon's doctor was Dr. Thomas Pirotte, a family
practitioner with the Newman-Young Clinic, P.A. On November 11,
1980, Dr. Pirotte informed Mrs. Bacon there were no problems with
her pregnancy and the child could be born at any time. Mrs. Bacon
went into labor that night. She was taken to the labor room
shortly after she was admitted to Mercy Hospital of Ft. Scott.
Labor proceeded normally until 3:50 a.m. At that time, the fetal
heart monitor began to register sudden, severe bradycardia, a
slowing of the heartbeat. From 3:50 a.m. to 4:05 a.m. the monitor
gave no tracing in which a discernible pattern could be read,
probably because of the movement of the baby's heart away from
the Doppler aim of ultrasound. It was later found the umbilical
cord had wrapped around the baby's neck twice. The cord
compression, which caused an autonomic nervous system mediated
deceleration, probably accounted for the bradycardia.