Pregnancy After A Vasectomy

Hi,
my husband had a vasectomy done in october of 2006. the doctor advised us that he is not sterile until two 0 count samples are supplied. the first sample was in December and came back as clean. the second one in march also showed 0 count. so my husband was officially declared sterile by his urologist. well, two weeks later (basically the first shot) i got pregnant. i went to the ob/gyn and had an ultrasound done to verify the day of conception. i have been wondering about the whole procedure and called my husbands nurse immediatly after taking the pregnancy test. she told me that the baby had to have been conceived before march 14 when he carried in the sterile sample (the actual date of conception is march 27). that made me suspicious, because he carried the sample the 11th, not the 14th - i know that for fact. in addition to that, when he carried his second sample, the doctor called his cellphone immediatly and told him that he was sterile. he had less than three minutes from the time we dropped it off, to the time he called. now, i am just wondering if we are dealing with neglect here, and if so, do we have any rights?
of course we will have the baby (murder is not an alternative), however, i just gave all my babystuff away. we have to add to the house, i have to take three months un paid leave. not even talking about the pain of the delivery (my last one was forceps, so i am kind of traumatized).

Witout knowing what state you're in, your question can't be answered. You have an additional issue which is that if you're correct in your timing, conception occurred before the doctor had opined that your husband was sterile, and thus the defense can argue that you should have been "taking precautions". In terms of a three-minute turn-around time, the doctor probably observed the sample under a microscope to determine that there were no sperm present - that wouldn't take long to do.

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Quoting aaron

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Witout knowing what state you're in, your question can't be answered. You have an additional issue which is that if you're correct in your timing, conception occurred before the doctor had opined that your husband was sterile, and thus the defense can argue that you should have been "taking precautions". In terms of a three-minute turn-around time, the doctor probably observed the sample under a microscope to determine that there were no sperm present - that wouldn't take long to do.

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sorry, we are in north carolina.
conception occured exactly 2 weeks after the doctor has declared my husband sterile, that is why we are so upset. we have the date confirmed via ultrasound.

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Quoting hille

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sorry, we are in north carolina.
conception occured exactly 2 weeks after the doctor has declared my husband sterile, that is why we are so upset. we have the date confirmed via ultrasound.

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Perhaps you will find someone who will take your case. You may even be able to calculate damages due to you

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gave all my babystuff away. we have to add to the house, i have to take three months un paid leave. not even talking about the pain of the delivery (my last one was forceps, so i am kind of traumatized).

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But I doubt it. Condoms don't guarantee anything. Neither do birth control pills, diaphrams, IUD's, tubal ligations or vasectomies.
Although vasectomies are known to be most effective, they are 98-99% effective. Your husband's surgeon may offer to repeat the vasectomy free of charge.

All the education provided about having a vasectomy state the amount of sperm may be very low, it is never 0%; that the reason a woman may become pregnant is her age; and, not to suspect another partner. If you are very fertile, your chances of becoming pregnant are higher.

Although you stated you don't want an abortion, there are other options.

Though you had the conception date confirmed by ultrasound, it is well known that confimation is not 100% accurate. It is just another tool to help a doctor make an educated guess based on the size and stage of development of the fetus. A two week difference is not nearly as convincing as a 2 month difference in gestation age.

i understand that i vasectomy is not 100% save, because the vas can recanalize. my hubby will see another doctor tomorrow, because we suspect that the sperm count has not been done properly. he told us 0 sperm were detected twice, and i got pregnant immediatly.
the date of conception is confirmed by my doctor +- 3 days (no doubt), which will still put us 2 weeks past the date of the second sperm count.
i do not want a lot of money or huge damages. but the unpaid leave and the medical cost will seriously put us in a bind. i had major complications during my last delivery, that is why we did take precautions until the doc told us that my husband was sterile. the main issue is about neglect i guess, if the urologist did not follow the proper procedure.

and as far as abortion goes. i hope that no judge in this country recommends murder to get you financially ahead.

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Quoting hille

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i understand that i vasectomy is not 100% save, because the vas can recanalize. my hubby will see another doctor tomorrow, because we suspect that the sperm count has not been done properly. he told us 0 sperm were detected twice, and i got pregnant immediatly.
the date of conception is confirmed by my doctor +- 3 days (no doubt), which will still put us 2 weeks past the date of the second sperm count.
i do not want a lot of money or huge damages. but the unpaid leave and the medical cost will seriously put us in a bind. i had major complications during my last delivery, that is why we did take precautions until the doc told us that my husband was sterile. the main issue is about neglect i guess, if the urologist did not follow the proper procedure.

and as far as abortion goes. i hope that no judge in this country recommends murder to get you financially ahead.

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You may feel free to consult a med-mal attorney.
You have no case for "neglect".
You raised the topic

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of course we will have the baby (murder is not an alternative)

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I suggested that you may consider "other" options to an unwanted pregnancy.
If you think someone on this legal forum is going to suggest you have or even imply that you have an abortion you are incorrect.

A claim for damages for the cost of raising an unexpected child is generally deemed a "wrongful birth" case. In Azzolino v. Dingfelder, 315 N.C. 103, 337 S.E.2d 528 (1985), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 835, 93 L. Ed. 2d 75 (1986), the North Carolina Supreme Court held that that life, even life with severe defects, is not an injury affording a legal remedy. This would be a significant, likely insurmountable, hurdle for trying to bring an action to recover such costs.

i do not want money to raise the child, i just do not want to be stuck with medical bills that i cannot pay.
why is there no case of negelct if, indeed, the proper procedure was not followed? that is why we are seeking a second opinion. if i had gotten pregnant years after the vasectomy i would not have been surprised, because i know that the chances are real, but two weeks after being declared sterile?
and as for the other partner, thank god that can be easily proven these days. that is one thing i am not worried about.

Consult a malpractice lawyer in your state, in relation to the ins and outs of a possible malpractice suit.

I would ask how old is your husband's urologist? Then I would refer you to the U.S. District Court for D.C. Case No. 99-0327 RCL where questions about frauds existing in the accreditation process associated with training standards for urologists are raised directly.

Soto v. Gaytan, No. 2-99-0327?

Plotzker v. American Board of Urology, et al U.S. District Court for D.C. Case No. 99-0327 RCL

Congrats on the baby. Sorry that your provider may have failed you.

I hear these cases are quite often, i never trusted doctors and i pray for God not to come into their hand.