Morlino v. Medical Center of Ocean County
New Jersey Supreme Court
706 A.2d 721 (1998)
- Written by Mary Phelan D'Isa, JD
Facts
Morlino (plaintiff) was administered Cipro late in her pregnancy to treat an infection that was resistant to other antibiotics, and her fetus died shortly thereafter. The treating physician, Dr. Dugenio (defendant) prescribed Cipro after he received the results of Morlino’s throat culture and consulted The Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR), which listed Cipro as a “Use-In-Pregnancy Category C” drug for which risk cannot be ruled out, human trials are lacking, and animal studies are either positive for fetal risk or also lacking. Dr. Dugenio testified that his understanding was that Cipro should be used in a pregnant patient only if its potential benefit outweighed the risk to the patient and the fetus. Dr. Dugenio further testified that he believed that if untreated, Morlino’s infection could lead to a more serious illness that could pose a serious risk to Morlino and her fetus. The PDR did not state that Cipro use is contraindicated in pregnant patients. The trial court entered judgment for Dr. Dugenio after a jury verdict in his favor. The appellate court affirmed and certified the question of whether the PDR can be used to establish the standard of care in a medical-malpractice action.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Pollock, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
