Man paralyzed, wins medical malpractice suit, awarded $4 million

Sadly, lives can be lost when a medical professional makes a mistake. A patient typically assumes that the doctor will consider every possibility and recommend care that correlates with the presenting symptoms. A medical malpractice lawsuit in a state outside of Maryland claimed that a doctor’s failure to diagnose led to a man’s permanent paralysis.

Over 10 years have passed since the man was paralyzed from his waist down due to an undiagnosed infection. However, a civil court recently ordered that the man and his wife are entitled to over $4 million in compensation for their lawsuit which was filed in 2011. However, a state statute limits medical malpractice awards to $1.25 million and has called into question how much the total payout will actually be.

The Indiana man had gone to an urgent care facility in March 2005 after suffering an injury at his workplace. He was given a shot and sent back to work. His condition then worsened until he could hardly walk, but during his second visit, he was again sent back to work — this time, with a different medication for pain. He later went to an emergency room, where he was diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome, a rare condition that causes compression on a patient’s spinal nerve roots and can cause both incontinence and permanent leg paralysis. The man is still paralyzed from this condition.

Doctors are obligated to act within the medical profession’s standard of care. Those who deviate from this standard are subject to medical malpractice claims. People in Maryland who feel they have been the victim of a medical malpractice are entitled seek compensation by filing a claim in a Maryland civil court. An experienced personal injury attorney is often consulted and retained for this purpose.

Source: news-sentinel.com, “Goshen couple wins $4.25 million in medical malpractice case”, Sharon Hernandez, July 24, 2016