Woman set on fire during C-section loses suit against doctor

A New York jury has ruled that an obstetrician is not liable for his former patient's abdomen catching fire during a Caesarean section in an incident that left her with a third-degree burn, a newspaper reported on Saturday.

The Post-Standard of Syracuse said a jury in Onondaga County state Supreme Court decided the case on Thursday in favor of Dr. Stephen Brown regarding the 2010 surgery at Crouse Hospital.

The fire was the result of a surgical tool igniting an alcohol-based antiseptic applied to the patient's skin, the newspaper said.

The woman, Kira Reed, 43, earlier this year reached an out-of-court settlement with the Syracuse hospital, but she continued with her lawsuit against the doctor.

The jury found Brown was not responsible for prepping Reed for the surgery, the Post-Standard reported.

In pretrial depositions, four nurses and an anesthesiologist said they were never trained in how to prevent surgical fires when using the antiseptic, the paper said. Reed had alleged that Brown and the nurses failed to follow the manufacturer's recommendation for how to use the antiseptic properly.

Brown put out the fire and Reed delivered a healthy baby. But the woman suffered a third-degree burn on her side, the newspaper said.