Pages

Friday, May 11, 2018

Patient Wins $2.25 Million After Mistake Made During Spinal Surgery

In March of 2011, a man was admitted to the hospital for surgery - a lumbar fusion surgery. Although nervous, he was hopeful that the surgery would be successful in relieving his pain. Unfortunately, his surgeon made a mistake which would ultimately result in more pain, not less.

After being discharged from the hospital, the patient began to experience pain in his right leg and eventually developed numbness in his right calf and toes. Despite informing his doctor of his pain and numbness, the surgeon failed to order an MRI until January of 2013.

An Errant Screw

The MRI revealed that a pedicle screw was in the wrong place and that the lumbar fusion had failed. The screw was actively pushing on L5 nerve root, causing the continued pain. As a result, he had to undergo a second surgery to correct the fusion and remove the screw.

He filed a lawsuit against the surgeon, alleging that they were negligent because the screw was placed in the wrong location.

The case went to trial, but prior to trial, a high-low agreement was reached with $2.25 being the high amount. Ultimately the jury awarded over $4 million to the plaintiff, however, he will only recover the $2.25 million. 

No comments:

Post a Comment