Radiologist accused of writing 'confusing' report lawyers say led to child's severe birth defects

The trial of a radiologist accused of medical malpractice got underway this week in Dekalb County, Georgia. 

Darren Cutter, MD, a radiologist who was working with Diagnostic Imaging Specialists in the Peach State at the time of the incident, is listed as the defendant in the trial. The named plaintiff is Charisma Leonard—a mother who alleges Cutter’s report of her prenatal ultrasound led her care team to make medical decisions resulting in her child being born with lifelong disabilities. 

According to Courtroom View Network, Leonard’s child required around-the-clock care in 2017. She contends the disabilities are the result of clinicians giving her 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 suggested that at the time of the exam, the pregnancy was intrauterine but that it had the potential to progress to an ectopic pregnancy due to its location within the uterus. This earned it a “high risk” classification, which Cutter communicated to Leonard’s care team. 

Leonard’s attorney, Nick Rowley, with Trial Lawyers for Justice, asserts that Cutter’s interpretation left the other providers confused, which ultimately leading to them prescribing methotrexate. 

"Radiology reports and radiology communications to clinicians who are making life and death decisions … should not be confusing,” Rowley charged. “They should not be misleading.” 

Cutter’s attorney, Robert Monyak, from Peters and Monyak, refuted those claims, noting that the radiologist’s report met the standard of care and clearly described the pregnancy as “intrauterine” at the time of the exam. He added that Cutter’s “high risk” label should have prompted Leonard’s care team to monitor the situation, as it did not indicate an acute emergency. What’s more, Monyak also noted that the methotrexate was prescribed after Leonard’s care team spoke with an OB-GYN specialist—a conversation and decision that Cutter had no part in. 

“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,” Monyak said. “He made the right call.” 

Jurors are expected to deliberate this week.