Sommers Schwartz attorney Kenneth Watkins negotiated a $1.5 million settlement in a claim for a 62-year-old woman who suffered permanent nerve damage following a spinal fusion surgery. Her injuries were an avoidable result of negligent post-operative care.

While recovering from spinal fusion surgery, the patient began to experience weakness in her legs and urinary retention. Her care team negligently failed to recognize these symptoms as a spinal epidural hematoma, an active, growing blood clot compressing the cluster of nerves at the root of the spinal cord called the cauda equina.

By the time they performed appropriate testing, diagnosed her condition, and rushed her to surgery, the patient had suffered irreversible nerve damage. The negligent delay in diagnosis and management caused permanent neurological deficits, including weakness in the legs, bladder and bowel dysfunction, low back pain, and lower extremity sensory loss. She cannot walk without the assistance of a walker.

This lawsuit alleged these permanent injuries resulted directly from the negligence and medical malpractice of multiple hospital personnel. After mediation, the parties negotiated the settlement to compensate the patient for her pain, suffering, and loss of the everyday enjoyment of life, along with the significant expenses she will incur for future medical treatment and ongoing nursing care.