Canesi v. Wilson, M.D.

Melissa Canesi (plaintiff) informed Dr. James Wilson (defendant) that she had not had her period and believed that she was pregnant. After a negative pregnancy test, Wilson prescribed Provera, a menstruation-inducing medication. At the time, the Physician’s Desk Reference stated that a doctor should inform a pregnant woman that Provera posed a risk of fetal anomalies, including limb reduction, and a risk that her body would retain a defective ovum instead of spontaneously aborting it. Wilson later retested Canesi, determining that she was pregnant with twins. Canesi asked Wilson if the Provera could impact the fetuses, and Wilson told her not to worry. Dr. Ronald Loewe (defendant), who had assumed Canesi’s treatment, also told Canesi not to be concerned. Over the pregnancy’s course, one of the twins died, and an amniocentesis revealed a possible abnormality in the remaining fetus. Canesi gave birth to a child with bilateral limb reduction. Canesi and her husband (plaintiff) sued Wilson and Loewe, alleging that the doctors had been negligent in failing to inform Canesi of Provera’s risks and claiming that had the Canesis been aware of the risk of congenital defects or that Canesi would retain a defective ovum, they would have terminated the pregnancy. Expert witnesses testified that accepted medical practice in similar circumstances would be to warn of the risk of limb reduction. The court granted summary judgment to Wilson and Loewe. The Canesis appealed.