LONDON, Ont. -- A doctor who faces an avalanche of lawsuits was shielded from public scrutiny by regulators after being accused of fracturing a baby's skull with forceps, a local lawyer says.
Joni Dobson's client accused Dr. Cathy Frank of trying in 2006 to deliver her baby repeatedly with forceps before performing a C-section. The baby has grown up with developmental disabilities.
In 2008, that case was among 31 involving Frank that the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario reviewed. The college did not refer any of those cases to a public disciplinary hearing, as Frank agreed to have her practice monitored by another doctor whose identity the college refuses to reveal -- an arrangement Dobson says kept other patients in the dark.
In 2009 and 2010, the mother of the injured baby and three other women filed formal complaints. In January, the college said the matters had already been considered.
