Gregory’s story. Because of the failure of his doctor to use routine care and monitoring during what should have been a straightforward back surgery, our client Gregory awoke from the procedure essentially paralyzed from the waist down. And what was worse, none of his doctors could tell him at the time if he’d ever walk again.
Thankfully, Gregory regained use of his legs and can now walk again, but he still suffered permanent neurologic damage as the result of his doctor’s negligent care.
The challenge. To prove that medical malpractice was committed, it is the job of an attorney to show that the doctor or nurse failed to meet the standard of care. Or, in other words, that they failed to act in a way a competent healthcare professional with a similar background in the same medical field would have, given the circumstances.
Through an extensive investigation of Gregory’s case, we were able to demonstrate that the surgeon violated the standard of care by failing to follow proper surgical procedures and was participating in several operations on different patients at the same time.
While it is not uncommon for a surgeon to be involved in several surgeries that overlap during the course of the same day, laws require a doctor to space the timing of procedures out for safety purposes.
In this case, however, the surgeon negligently began operating on a second person just minutes after he started Gregory’s procedure, putting them both at serious risk.
To make matters worse, the surgeon started a third operation, complicating matters even more.
The outcome. By presenting this evidence, Kolsby Gordon was able to show it would have been impossible to for the surgeon to provide the specialized attention and care that Gregory’s procedure required and that the nerve damage he suffered was a direct result of his negligence.
The settlement we helped Gregory secure will ensure he has the resources he needs moving forward, and we were proud to stand with him in his fight for full recovery. The bravery and determination he showed throughout the process was an inspiration to us all, and we are happy to call him both a client and a friend.
