A Tennessee medical malpractice jury returned its verdict in the amount of $8.1 million for a man who was 55-years-old when his doctor failed to properly diagnose and treat an infection in his right shoulder that led to him developing a spinal epidural abscess from C2 to T1 that resulted in permanent paralysis. The $8.1 million verdict included $3 million for the man’s medical expenses; $5 million for his pain, suffering, and disability; and, $100,000 for his wife’s loss of consortium claim.
Background Facts
The man went to his doctor in April 2020, complaining of pain in his right shoulder. The doctor diagnosed the man with acute bursitis that he treated with a steroid injection and sent the man home. The man developed a blister on his right shoulder a couple of days later, and he returned to the doctor. During that visit, the doctor diagnosed him as having shingles for which the doctor prescribed a topical cream and oral antiviral medication. In a period of just over two weeks since his last visit to his doctor, the man developed a large and painful abscess that was draining. The man returned to the doctor and the doctor drained the abscess in his office after which he prescribed oral antibiotics and Bactroban ointment, instead of immediately sending the man to the hospital for inpatient treatment with IV antibiotics.
The man suffered sudden paralysis and loss of mobility within days of being sent home. An MRI showed a spinal epidural abscess from C2 to T1 that compressed his spinal cord. Emergency surgery was not successful, and the man ended up with permanent paralysis that requires care for the rest of his life.
The plaintiffs’ Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer argued to the jury that the standard of care required the doctor to admit the man to the hospital for IV antibiotics once the abscess developed, and had the doctor done so, it was likely that the infection in his spine would have been avoided and he would not have suffered permanent paralysis. The defense argued that oral antibiotics were sufficient and satisfied the standard of care, and that COVID-19 protocols that were in effect at the time also supported not admitting the man to the hospital.
The defendant doctor worked at The Doctor’s Clinic, which is part of Baptist Memorial Medical Group, Inc. The Tennessee medical malpractice verdict in this case was against both the doctor and his employer.
The defendants reportedly did not make any settlement offers before trial.
If you or a loved one may have been injured as a result of medical malpractice in Tennessee or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Tennessee 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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