Situation:
Medical Malpractice Sought After Untimely MRI Leads to Cauda Equina Syndrome
The medical malpractice attorneys at Lipkin & Apter represented a client, a 31 year old woman who was taken by ambulance to a local hospital at 11:00 p.m. after developing severe low back pain radiating down her left leg while pulling a grocery cart. She was admitted into the hospital and assigned an attending physician. The attending first saw our client the next day at 1:00 p.m. By this time her symptoms had changed and she had pain radiating down her right leg causing numbness in her foot and ankle.
MRI Ordered ASAP
Believing the cause of our client’s problems to be a nerve injury (i.e. a herniated disc) the attending ordered an MRI to be performed ASAP. Hospital records indicate that the MRI ordered was communicated to the radiology department over its computer system by 2:00 p.m. Records also show that on the day the MRI was ordered, no other patients were scheduled for MRI, and the machine was available for immediate use.
MRI Not Performed and Patient's Condition Deteriorates
Tragically, the MRI was not performed for more than 24 hours. During this time, our client's medical condition deteriorated to the point she required catheterization and developed weakness and numbness in both legs and feet. The MRI showed a massive central herniated disc compressing the nerves in her spinal canal (these nerves are called the cauda equina nerves). Our client suffers today from cauda equina syndrome with permanent impairment of her bowel and bladder function, numbness in her groin area and foot drop, which requires use of braces for her to walk.
Medical Negligence Alleged
Lipkin & Apter alleged that both the attending physician and hospital were negligent for not having the MRI taken and interpreted on the day it was ordered. Thus, surgery which could have prevented the cauda equina syndrome, if performed earlier, was delayed for almost two days and was ineffective. We also alleged that the attending physician failed to recognize our client’s progressive neurologic deficits between the time of admission and the attending’s first evaluation, and that the attending physician further failed to provide for backup coverage while she was out of the hospital.
Defendant Alleges Immediate Surgery Not Required
The medical malpractice dispute in the case centered on whether surgery was called for on the day the MRI was ordered, given our client’s clinical picture, and whether cauda equina syndrome should have been anticipated on that day. Defendants hired two neurosurgeons as expert witnesses. Each stated that our client was admitted to the hospital with the same complaints as a patient in a non-emergency condition – with low back pain and radiating pain down a leg. Since surgery for these complaints is elective rather than mandatory, the defense experts believed our client did not require immediate surgery. Failure to perform surgery the same day the MRI was ordered was therefore not negligence.
Successful Resolution: $2,500,000
We were able to prove that our client was not a typical presentation. The change of symptoms from her left leg to right leg within 12 hours following admission, and her inability to feel the urge to urinate were hallmark features of a developing cauda equina syndrome, a well-known, if rare neurologic condition. Further, the lack of explanation as to why the MRI was not immediately taken and that the MRI results indicated compression of multiple nerves in the spinal cord rather than a single nerve that already exited the cord ultimately led to the defendants offering the plaintiff $2.5 million in medical malpractice settlement a week before trial was to begin.
The veteran team of Lipkin & Apter lawyers is available to assist with your case. From our office in downtown Chicago, we offer free consultations to review the details of your potential case. Let our knowledge and experience of the legal system protect your rights.