Past President Molly H. Craig, a partner at Hood Law Firm LLC, obtained a defense verdict following a two week medical malpractice trial in Charleston County, South Carolina. Plaintiff alleged the Defendant physician was negligent by failing to diagnose a C5 fracture when he provided care and treatment to the decedent in the emergency department. Shortly after discharge from the hospital, the Decedent showed signs of paralysis and ultimately was a quadriplegic until his death two years later.
The Decedent was involved in an altercation with law enforcement resulting in being tased with an electroshock device. After being tased, the Decedent allegedly suffered a compression fracture following a fall from a porch. The Defendant physician was not notified of the fall, however, the Plaintiff argued that the doctor should have ordered a CT of the neck since the doctor knew about the altercation and tasing.
Plaintiff’s experts opined that if the spinal cord injury was diagnosed timely, the Decedent’s paralysis could have been prevented.
The defense proved that the Decedent did not have a diagnosable spinal cord injury at the time Defendant physician was providing care and treatment in the emergency department. The jury returned a defense verdict.