Maine Couple Awarded $500,000 In Fetal Malpractice Case

AUGUSTA, Maine - A jury has awarded a Maine couple $500,000 after finding a hospital was negligent in the handling of their stillborn fetus.
 
The Kennebec Journal reports that a jury recently awarded Michael and Katie Smith, of China, $500,000 in damages in the medical malpractice suit. The jury found that MaineGeneral Medical Center and a pathologist were negligent in 2013 when they took a tissue sample from the Smith fetus.
 
An attorney for the Smiths claimed a pathologist working with the hospital took a large tissue sample from the fetus without their consent. The Smiths had previously only authorized skin and placenta samples.
 
Attorneys for both the hospital and the pathologist involved in the case don't plan on appealing the decision.