YOUNGSTOWN Jury rules in favor of doctor

The jury found there was negligence, but it did not cause the baby's death.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A local obstetrician's negligence did not cause a Columbiana couple's baby to be stillborn three years ago.
That was the verdict handed down Friday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, where Dr. Robert McCluskey had been on trial in a civil lawsuit brought against him by Matthew and Sunny Barger of Columbiana.
Seven of the eight jurors found that McCluskey was negligent, but his negligence did not "cause injury" to the Bargers.
All eight jurors found that McCluskey failed to fully inform Sunny Barger of the possible risks associated with using the drug Cytotec to induce her labor, but again found that it was not a cause of injury to the Bargers.
The jury ruled unanimously in favor of McCluskey, declining to award damages to the Bargers.
McCluskey's attorney, Stephen Griffith, said after the verdict, "Our sympathies and condolences are with the Barger family today, as they always have been."
He and McCluskey declined to comment further. The Bargers and their attorney, Thomas Travers, also declined to comment.
The couple sued McCluskey, Forum Health Northside Medical Center and two other doctors two years ago. Forum settled out of court, and the other doctors were dismissed from the action. Terms of the settlement with Forum have not been disclosed.
Testimony
At trial, Travers argued that McCluskey should not have used Cytotec because he had used it only once before. He said the drug caused repeated contractions that eventually cut off flow of blood and oxygen to the unborn baby through the umbilical cord, causing the infant's organs to shut down.
Sunny Barger testified that had she known the risks associated with the drug, she would not have taken it.
McCluskey testified that it was actually another doctor who'd prescribed the drug and administered the first dose before McCluskey arrived at the hospital.
He said the other doctor approved use of the drug, and that he was following that doctor's recommendation. McCluskey said he did not read the protocol for administering Cytotec that day before giving it to Sunny Barger, nor did he review it in a physician's guide.
McCluskey said he took over the birth, ordering three more doses of the drug before leaving the hospital for home. He planned to return later that night to deliver the baby.
He called the hospital from his home around 10:30 p.m. to check on Sunny Barger's progress and was told that the fetal heart rate had slowed down a couple times, but had returned to normal.
The hospital called him at home about four hours later to say there was a problem with the fetus and an emergency surgery was necessary. He rushed to the hospital in time to tend to Sunny Barger. Another doctor had delivered the baby.
bjackson@vindy.com