This case takes place in Connecticut and involves an elderly male patient who was in good health and living independently. On one occasion, the man suffered a serious fall while walking in the park, and was transported by ambulance to his local hospital. While in the hospital, the man was diagnosed with a neck fracture, however there was no evidence of weakness or loss of sensation in any of the man’s extremities. In order to operate on the patient’s injuries, doctors unsuccessfully attempted to administer spinal anesthesia multiple times before reverting to general anesthesia for the procedure. The orthopedic surgeon then proceeded to perform surgery on the patient, which occurred without incident. In the hours following the surgery, the patient was seen by doctors twice, though no examination of his extremities was noted. Eventually, it was discovered that the patient was having difficulty moving his fingers and toes. Over the course of several days, the patient was seen by multiple other physicians, all of whom were allegedly not informed of the multiple attempts at spinal anesthesia by the operating orthopedist. It was eventually determined that revision surgery would be necessary to treat the damage to his spine. Over the course of the patient’s treatment, he claims that he experienced numbness and immobility at all times, and that doctors were aware of the severity of his injuries but allegedly attempted to downplay the damage caused by the initial anesthetic application. It is claimed that the delay he experienced between his initial injury and revision surgery greatly reduced his potential for recovery, and he has since had to pay extensive medical fees in order to pay for locomotive training and physical therapy.
