Lawsuit: Staten Island Hospital Forced Patient Into C-Section Against Her Will
In a lawsuit filed by a New York woman against the Staten Island University Hospital, two physicians and their practice groups claim she was forced to undergo a cesarean section against her will.
Rinat Dray is a 35-year-old mother of three who had delivered her first two children via c-section. When Dray learned she was pregnant a third time she began investigating options for a VBAC, or vaginal birth after cesarean.
As her attorney explained to RH Reality Check, Dray experienced post-operative problems resulting from her previous c-sections, involving prolonged recoveries. After doing some research, she believed she might be a successful VBAC candidate. Dray interviewed providers and eventually switched OB-GYN practice groups to one she believed would support and respect her decision. According to her attorney, when Dray raised the issue of a VBAC directly with physicians in the Metropolitan OB-GYN Associates group, they indicated it was a possibility for Dray. “He gave her a positive response without a guarantee,” said Michael Bast of the law firm Silverstein and Bast, “which is a good response. It’s all you could expect.” That practice group and two of its physicians are named as defendants in Dray’s lawsuit.
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