Eisenberg Rothweiler partners, Kenneth M. Rothweiler and Daniel Jeck, Recover $4,000,000 for their client for the failure by his doctor to diagnose and treat a spinal infection.

A 55 year old city worker entered a local city hospital in March 2005 to undergo surgery to remove a tumor on his esophagus. An epidural catheter was inserted into the patients back to deliver pain medication. The surgery was performed successfully and, for the next few days, the patient received medication through the epidural.

Four days later, the epidural was removed.  At the time of the removal, the nurse notified the surgeon of purulence or pus and the doctor ordered Levaquin, an antibiotic typically used to treat lung infections, for his patient. Over the course of the next several days the patient was noted by hospital staff to have a fever, an elevated white blood cell count, and redness near the area of the epidural, common signs and symptoms of an infection.  The surgeon did not order any tests to rule out infection or consult with an infectious disease doctor.

The patient’s white blood cell count and fever continued to rise with pus still secreting from the epidural site.  Hospital staff contemplated ordering a CT scan or a obtaining a culture sample to test for an infection but neither test was performed. Finally, after four days of elevated temperature, increasing white blood cell count and drainage, the doctor scheduled the patient for an MRI.  However, tragically, before the MRI could be performed, the patient began to lose feeling in his lower extremities and was paralyzed from the epidural site down. Two consecutive MRIs finally revealed an abscess on his spine.

A neurosurgeon and other doctors were immediately consulted and came to the conclusion that the untreated infection impeded blood flow to the spine and caused a spinal stroke. Cultures taken from the patient revealed that the patient had been suffering from a MRSA infection.  Our client remains paralyzed from the chest down and requires intense supervision, care and assistance with all activities of daily living.

One day into trial, Ken Rothweiler and Daniel Jeck were able to reach a settlement and recover $4 million for their client. They argued that the negligence of the surgeon and hospital were apparent as they ignored the signs and symptoms of infection and were lackadaisical in their approach to treating their patient.  If, at any time before the onset of paralysis appropriate tests were conducted to look for an infection, timely and appropriate treatment would have ensued and this most tragic outcome could have been avoided.