REAL CASE 1 – protecting the rights of a patient: a woman complained that the hospital treating her was responsible for the stillbirth of her child. In particular, her doctors failed to perform a timely C-section, waiting unsuccessfully for her to have a spontaneous vaginal delivery until 42 weeks’ gestation.
OUTCOME: Before bringing an action against the hospital, we sought the opinion of a forensic examiner specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, who confirmed the hospital’s negligence. Following an unsuccessful attempt at mediation, we sued the hospital for damages. The case is currently pending.
REAL CASE 2 – protecting the rights of a doctor: the family members of a patient who died of respiratory system cancer sued the surgeon who operated the man for oral cancer years before, alleging a correlation between the two cancers.
OUTCOME: first of all, we objected to the fact that there had been no attempt at mediation, which is mandatory under Italian law. The parties thus went through mediation, but without resolution, so the case went back to court. After we appointed experienced forensic doctors as expert witness, the Court’s expert found that there was no causal link between the previous cancer and the patient’s death. (The case is currently pending.)