Paralyzed logger’s family wins medical malpractice lawsuit

When a Maryland resident seeks the help of a medical professional, he or she places a great amount of trust in that person. A patient trusts that he or she will be treated with care or undergo a successful procedure that will help him or her return to having a clean bill of health. However, mistakes occur in the medical field, and, when they do, individuals who are adversely affected may choose to file medical malpractice lawsuits.

One such out-of-state medical malpractice lawsuit resulted in a victim receiving over $2 million recently. The jury awarded the money on a recent Friday in October to the man, as well as to his wife, who is also his caretaker. The jury found that three doctors who were connected to a hospital in the Northeast owed the man, a former logger, $2.2 million as they did not give the man proper treatment while treating his spinal injury, which resulted in him becoming a paraplegic.

According to the suit, the man sued the doctors for failing to give him a proper examination following a work accident in which a 500-pound tree crashed into the man’s back during the summer of 2012. The man claimed that as he was experiencing too much pain to be able to lie down for an X-ray, he should have, instead, received a CT scan. As a result, his spinal fracture was not detected in the X-ray. According to a surgeon who testified at the trial, the man could have been walking, provided the spinal fracture had been properly diagnosed.

When a medical professional’s negligence results in injury to his or her patient or a worsening of the patient’s condition, the victim typically seeks to file a medical malpractice suit. If evidence of medical malpractice is properly presented, a court may award compensation to cover the cost of future and past medical care, as well as pain and suffering and other non-economic damages. However, many people in Maryland file such cases for more than monetary compensation. Often, a successful lawsuit can prompt a change in standard operating procedure, which can help to protect other patients from experiencing similar issues.

Source: dailyjournal.net, “Pennsylvania jury awards paralyzed logger’s family $2.2 million in medical malpractice lawsuit”, Oct. 26, 2015