In September 2025, a Massachusetts woman settled her Massachusetts medical malpractice claim for $4 million for a spinal abscess resulting in paralysis due to a delay of 41 hours in performing an emergent MRI. Once she had the MRI, it confirmed that she had a spinal abscess compressing her spinal cord. Despite receiving antibiotic therapy and having surgery, she still suffers from paralysis and now uses a wheelchair.
The woman had a reported history of IV drug use when she arrived at the hospital on January 25, 2018 by ambulance, complaining of new onset severe pain in her neck and back along with fever, chills, body aches, headaches, numbness, nausea, and vomiting. Her symptoms as well as her history of IV drug use led the emergency room physician to suspect that the woman may have a spinal abscess (a history of IV drug use heightened the concern), and therefore she ordered an emergent thoracic MRI.
The woman remained in the ER the entire day, waiting for the MRI to be performed. At midnight, she was brought to the MRI scanner but the MRI could not be performed because she was not able to lie flat due to pain for which she was not properly medicated. The MRI could not be performed at that time and was rescheduled for the following night. The woman waited 41 hours to have the MRI scan despite the order for an emergent MRI. On January 27, 2018, the woman told the medical staff that she was no longer able to move her legs, that she felt numbness and tingling, and that she had become incontinent.
The woman was prepared to provide expert testimony on her behalf that the spinal abscess was present at the time the initial MRI scan was attempted, and had the MRI scan been performed at that time, the spinal abscess would have been diagnosed and timely treated, which would have avoided the woman’s paralysis. The experts reportedly were also prepared to testify that the woman needed an immediate MRI when she first arrived at the ER, and that it was a breach of the standard of care to fail to properly medicate the woman so that she could lie flat for the first scheduled MRI. The defense argued that it was not their fault that the MRI schedule was full with other patients who needed emergent MRIs.
Spinal Abscess
A spinal epidural abscess is an infection of the central nervous system that classically presents with midline back pain, fever, and neurologic deficits. It is difficult to diagnose and requires a high index of suspicion. When left untreated spinal epidural abscess can cause significant morbidity and mortality.
If you or a loved one suffered harm as a result of medical negligence in Massachusetts or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Massachusetts medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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