QUESTION
Paraplegia from hematoma after Lumbar Spinal Surgery
Asked on Dec 07th, 2014 on Medical Malpractice - North Carolina
More details to this question:
My dad had lumbar spinal surgery in early August 2014. All went well, he began phy therapy inpatient at a rehab facility and was recovering. 20 days post-surgery, a hematoma formed at surgical site and was sent to ER. It was very painful and considered a "medical emergency," which should be evacuated ASAP. By the time his Orthapaedist/Surgeon got to him, he said he couldn't operate at that time because he wasn't able to put together a surgical team. Also, he had put Dad on coumadin about 10 days earlier so his blood was too thin. Dad was given frozen plasma to thicken blood. Surgery scheduled for the next day at 2:00pm-29 hours after coming to ER. Surgery didn't happen until 5:00pm-32 hours later. Now, Dad is now paraplegic/incontinent. He is in an Assist Liv Fac, paying out of pocket. Money will run out in a few months, then he'll have nothing. We feel if hema had been treated earlier, nerve damage would be less and he'd be home now. What are your thoughts? Do we have a case?
1 ANSWER
Hi,
So sorry to hear about your Dad. We are handling a very similar case right now. 32 hours seems like a completely unreasonable amount of time to wait to do surgery for a spinal hematoma. Surgeons know that they have approximately 8 -12 hours to remove the hematoma or risk permanent paralysis. I understand that coumadin can complicate the matter and delay surgery. However, things can be done within a few hours to thicken the blood to an acceptable level of risk. All of the medical records need to be obtained and then reviewed by a qualified surgeon to determine whether there was a breach in the standard of care.
Let me know if we can help,
John
The Law Firm of John C. Hensley, Jr., P.C.
828-225-3737
Answered on Dec 22nd, 2014 at 2:08 PM