Delayed Diagnosis Causes Serious Damages in Sacramento Personal Injury Case, Part 1 of 2

The following blog entry is written to illustrate an example of a personal injury case. Reviewing this kind of lawsuit should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in personal injury cases present such issues to the court.

(Please also note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this personal injury lawsuit and its proceedings.)

INJURIES: Plaintiff claimed he sustained cauda equina syndrome, chronic pain syndrome, loss of a leg due to amputation, bowel/bladder incontinence, and loss of sexual function. He said he suffers from intense pain on a daily basis and continues to have decreased sensation of lower extremities described as a “dead” leg below the knee. He uses a walker to ambulate short distances, cannot walk on his own and cannot drive.

Facts:

In August 2006, Plaintiff, 64, a retiree, presented to the ABC Hospital complaining of lower back pain and left leg pain, which he said was worse with activity. A decision was made to perform an L4-5 and L5-S1 laminectomy with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion at L4-5. A preoperative examination of Plaintiff revealed no weakness with, and he did not have problems with, bowel function, urination or sexual function or any difficulty walking.

On August 19, Plaintiff underwent the recommended back surgery. The next day, a nurse noted that Plaintiff complained of numbness in the scrotum, inability to feel sensation and a dull sensation in his right leg. The symptoms persisted and worsened. By that evening,

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

Plaintiff was numb from his waist down, incontinent and had no feeling in his genital area. He was diagnosed with saddle anesthesia — a loss of sensation restricted to the area of the buttocks and perineum. The neurosurgeon, Dr. Frim, was informed of Plaintiff’s symptoms, but no imaging studies, further examination, or action of any kind was taken. On August 21, an epidural drain was removed. By August 23, Plaintiff was unable to void after a trial catheter was removed. He was transferred to rehabilitation on August 26, and a neurological exam indicated no sensation in the perineum, buttocks and both feet, and weakness in both lower extremities.

For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.

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