When a person seeks medical attention in Atlanta for an ailment, he expects that medical personnel will help him feel better, not worse. Yet because doctors and nurses are human, unfortunately there is always the potential for a mistake to be made. When this happens, the results can be devastating.
This was the case for a 40-year-old man who sought treatment for his chronic back pain at a pain clinic. He received an injection in May 2008 that worked to alleviate his pain for a time. He went back to the clinic in December for another injection, but this time it didn’t work, so he went again in January 2009. Soon after receiving the epidural steroid injection, he noticed a lump at the injection site. The clinic told him that some swelling was normal. Since the shot had done nothing for his pain, he went back for another one about a week later. Although he told the nurse about the lump, she told him the doctor said it wouldn’t be a problem and he was given another injection.
Soon after, the man developed symptoms of meningitis, a diagnosis that was confirmed after a visit to the emergency room. Although he was not expected to live, he beat the illness, but was left with severe spinal injuries.
The man filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctors and clinic, alleging that the first injection gave him MRSA and the second spread the MRSA into his spinal cord and caused the meningitis. The man committed suicide before the lawsuit reached trial, but his parents took it over. They were recently awarded $2.88 million for their son’s suffering and wrongful death.
Source: The Kansas City Star, “Johnson County jury awards $2.88 million in malpractice case against pain clinic,” Alan Bavley, Apr. 6, 2014
