Georgia jury sides with radiologist in negligence case

A Georgia jury has cleared a radiologist of any responsibility regarding a report lawyers said led to a child’s severe birth defects. 

Darren Cutter, MD, a radiologist who was working with Diagnostic Imaging Specialists at the time of the incident, was on trial earlier in January for negligence charges stemming from his interpretation of a mother’s prenatal ultrasound. The plaintiff’s attorneys accused Cutter of writing a “confusing” report, which eventually leading to her child being born with severe birth defects. 

The child’s lifelong disabilities are reportedly due to her mother taking methotrexate early in the pregnancy after Cutter’s interpretation indicated the potential for an ectopic pregnancy. Methotrexate is routinely used to address fetuses that develop outside of the uterus by preventing them from progressing any further. However, it is not indicated for intrauterine pregnancies, as it has been linked to severe birth defects. 

Cutter’s report clearly stated that the pregnancy was intrauterine at the time of the exam, though he noted that its location put the plaintiff at risk of an ectopic pregnancy. That information was relayed to the plaintiff’s care team, who ultimately decided to give her the medication. 

The plaintiff’s attorneys accused Cutter of confusing another provider's notes with his own report. Cutter’s attorney, however, refuted those claims, stating that the doctor’s additional notes did not describe an acute emergency, but rather something that needed to be monitored. 

“Whatever happened and whatever led [the clinician] to go ahead and tell the nurse to give that methotrexate, it wasn’t because of Dr. Cutter,” his attorney said during the trial. “He made the right call.” 

After half a day of deliberation, the DeKalb County (Georgia) State Court jury agreed with Cutter’s attorney, releasing the doctor of any responsibility for the child’s disabilities. 

Read more about the trial here.