An Ohio man has been awarded a more than $2 million civil judgment after he was paralyzed by physicians during an emergency room visit. The man had sued OhioHealth, the parent company of Doctors Hospital, for medical malpractice after the incident. The man was put in a restraint hold in an emergency room; the hold applied significant pressure to his cervical spine area, resulting in paralysis.
Authorities report the man was brought to the hospital in June 2009. He had stopped taking critical psychiatric medications and appeared to be having a behavioral emergency. The man was disoriented and confused when a patient-care attendant put him in a wrestling hold so he could be sedated. As the sedation wore off during the next several hours, staff realized that the man could no longer move his legs, and he was limited in his ability to use his arms. He was then transferred to another hospital for surgery after it was discovered that he suffered a broken neck.
The man currently lives in a nursing home and has regained most of the use of his arms and hands. He hopes the jury award will allow him to modify his own home to be handicapped-accessible so he can leave the center.
OhioHealth representatives say they plan to appeal the jury verdict. They argue that the man’s behavior was the cause of his injury, not the actions of the staff. They believe the man’s injuries were effectively self-inflicted because he was behaving violently. Experts report that the judgment is among the top 10 highest medical malpractice awards in the state of Ohio. The largest award to date topped $17 million in connection with an infant who suffered a brain injury.
If you have been injured by the negligence of medical professionals, you deserve compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering and other discomfort. Contact a personal injury attorney to learn more about your legal options.
Source: www.dispatch.com, “Man wins $2.8M over broken neck at hospital” John Futty, May. 04, 2013