Medical Malpractice

Plaintiff, while driving his motorcycle home on his first shore leave from the Navy, was struck and severely injured by a County truck that had run a stop sign. Plaintiff was taken by Ambulance to a hospital ER where he was examined and diagnosed with multiple head, neck, back and lower extremity injuries, the most significant of which was a compound displaced fracture of his leg.
After an examination, routine x-rays, and an orthopedic consult, clients’ badly fractured leg was grossly swollen requiring immediate surgical intervention to reduce the pressure. He underwent a below the knee amputation. Plaintiff alleged that the hospital should have also conducted an examination of the injured legal pedal pulses, which would have disclosed a severed artery and saved his leg. Plaintiff sued the County, Hospital, and the orthopedic surgeon for damages.

Plaintiff, a medical office bookkeeper, suffered a dominant hand injury requiring surgical intervention. Surgery was successful with anticipated recovery accompanied by physical therapy as prescribed by the hand surgeon and consented to by the client. Believing the doctor was in error, the Defendant physical therapist intentionally disregarded the doctor’s orders, created her own physical therapy program without plaintiff’s consent, and didn’t alert the doctor of the change. Plaintiff’s condition got worse, and he was required to undergo a second surgery with permanent residuals affecting his ability to work and produce income in the present and future.