$1.385 Million Settlement for Failure to Diagnose Acute Transverse Myelitis

A 23-year-old college student recently accepted a settlement of his medical malpractice case against an Emergency Room doctor and hospital for failure to timely diagnose that his leg numbness and weakness was a possible result of acute transverse myelitis, a condition which, when recognized, requires the prompt administration of high-dose corticosteroids to reduce inflammation to the spinal cord and the possible onset of paralysis. Instead, the emergency room physician, in consultation with client’s pediatrician on the telephone, discharged the patient home and his condition worsened, resulting in an admission to a different hospital, where steroids were administered, but not in time to prevent permanent damage to the patient’s spinal cord from occurring. Blume Donnelly partner, Michael Zerres, represented the client.