Plaintiff, a
49-year-old woman with a history of scoliosis, underwent spinal fusion
with instrumentation by defendant. Before surgery, her symptoms were
limited to low back pain and left leg pain. After surger, she was
found to have a severe left foot drop with numbness and reduced
sensation. Despite these symptoms, the defendant failed to investigate to
see if there may be misplaced instrumentation.
Plaintiff underwent a lumbar CAT scan
three months post-operatively which demonstrated misplaced pedicular
screws, which encroached several nerve roots. Despite these abnormal
findings, defendant failed to bring plaintiff back to the operating room
for corrective surgery.
Approximately two years later, plaintiff
came under the care of a new orthopedic surgeon who brought plaintiff
back to the operating room for a complete revision and replacement of
all of the spinal hardware. The fusion, which had previously been at two
levels, was extended to four levels. Plaintiff obtained significant
relief from the three-stage corrective surgery. However, she was left
with a mild left foot drop and persistent pain in the left leg and foot.
