$4.9 Million Verdict Awarded for Spinal Cord Injuries

Barbara Newman was a lung surgery patient. Upon awakening from her procedure, her first words to the nurse were, "I can't move my legs." Unbeknownst to her, foreign material left in her surgical site was compressing her spinal cord, slowly causing irreversible injury with every passing hour. The hospital staff and her surgeon did little to address the medical emergency. More than a day passed before a reasonable assessment of her symptoms began.
Ultimately, an MRI imaging study revealed the foreign material compressing Barbara's spine. Emergency surgery removed the substance, but the damage was done. Barbara was left with severe and permanent neurological injury and extraordinary medical care costs for the rest of her life. Although the surgeon and hospital denied responsibility and blamed each other, Bob Spohrer and our medical negligence team took the case to a jury in a two-week trial. The jury evaluated the evidence and rendered a verdict of $4.9 million in favor of our client.