After a two and a half week trial in Camden County, New Jersey, Daniel Jeck, a partner at Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, and Jeck, P.C., obtained a $1.5 million award from a Camden County jury in the matter known as Anderson, h/w v. Lennard Gildiner, M.D.
This medical malpractice case arose from claims that Dr. Gildiner, the treating obstetrician, failed to timely consider, recognize, diagnose and treat a spinal epidural abscess for his obstetrical patient following an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. Plaintiffs claimed that Dr. Gildiner, who discharged his patient, negligently failed to consider an epidural infection (and abscess) for two days during the post-partum period after multiple documented complaints of severe back pain and tenderness in and around the epidural site for which his patient was prescribed 22 Percocet, 4 Flexeril and 11 Motrin in a two day time period. Plaintiffs claimed that Dr. Gildiner should have ordered a CAT scan or MRI to rule out the life-threatening condition of the spine due to post-partum back pain.
After her discharge, Plaintiff returned home whereupon the next morning, she suffered a loss of strength and sensation in her legs. She emergently returned back to the hospital where an MRI revealed an extensive spinal epidural abscess. Emergency laminectomy and laminotomy procedures ensued and, fortunately, Plaintiff regained her strength. However, to this day, Plaintiff continues to suffer a loss of sensation in her entire left leg.
At trial, Daniel Jeck claimed that the defendant deviated from the standard of care by failing to consider and rule out a spinal epidural abscess. He claimed that the delay in diagnosis increased the risk and was a substantial factor in causing her significant permanent harm; specifically, loss of sensation of her entire left leg. Defendant maintained that spinal epidural abscess was a rare condition which only occurs in 1 in 500,000 patients and that this patient did not exhibit those signs and symptoms which would have warranted follow-up testing to rule out an abscess. A jury disagreed and awarded Plaintiff $1.5 million.
