No Link Between Auto Accident and Early Cesarean Section

In Johnson v. The City of New York, plaintiff was 12 days pregnant when a police vehicle backed into her as she walked across a street in Manhattan. Plaintiff alleged that as a result of the accident, she sustained a fractured right tibia. In addition, she alleged that the accident caused complications in her pregnancy, such as vaginal bleeding and placental abruption, resulting in plaintiff undergoing an emergency cesarean section at 27 weeks (just over 6 months). The court found that, based upon the emergency room records on the date of the accident, plaintiff demonstrated a connection between the accident and her leg fracture. As to the pregnancy complications, the medical records did not contain any specific link to the leg injury. Rather, “preexisting gynecological issues” were cited as the cause for at least some of plaintiff’s pregnancy difficulties. As such, the court ruled that there was no support to plaintiff’s argument that the auto accident caused any of the subsequent complications to her pregnancy.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2011/2011_08458.htm

Thanks to Brian Gibbons for his contribution to this post.