24th July, 2016 – Michigan – US: More than 10 years after a Goshen man became paralyzed from the waist down from an undiagnosed infection, a local court has ordered him and his wife to receive more than $4 million in compensation.
Robert Lehman went to Dunlap Urgent Care Center, a medical clinic that since has closed, in 2005 after he was injured at his workplace, according to court files. Employees at the clinic administered a shot and a prescription to Lehman and sent him back to work.
After that, Lehman’s condition worsened to the point that he could barely walk by the time he returned to the clinic. During his second visit he was examined by Dr. Jay Schlabach, who sent Lehman back to work a second time with an additional pain medication.
Lehman ended up going to the emergency room at IU Health Goshen Hospital, where he as diagnosed with Cauda Equina Syndrome, a rare disorder in which something compresses on the spinal nerve roots. The condition requires fast treatment to prevent lasting damage.
Left untreated for long, Cauda Equina can cause incontinence or permanent paralysis of the legs. Lehman remains paralyzed from the condition.
The case originally was filed in June 2011, according to electronic court records. Elkhart Circuit Court Judge Terry Shewmaker presided over a bench trial in April.
In a ruling issued July 15, Shewmaker ordered Dunlap Occupational Health and Urgent Care Center and Schlabach to pay a total of $4.25 million to Lehman. The judge also ordered the defendants to pay $450,000 to Lehman’s wife, Marla Lehman, who Shewmaker agreed has suffered as a result of her husband’s health.
"Marla Lehman has suffered her own damages for the loss of her companionship and consortium of her husband," Shewmaker wrote in his opinion, "In addition, she has provided care support and nurturing to him required as a spouse." Thomas Leatherman, one of the attorneys representing the Lehmans, believes the financial judgment is the biggest in Elkhart County’s history.
However, the amount that the Lehmans actually will receive from the case is far from settled. Even though Shewmaker's ruling calls for the Lehmans to receive $4 million, an Indiana statute limits judgments in medical malpractice cases to $1.25 million.
The judge far exceeded the limit because he ruled Lehman's injury in the case is “catastrophic,” adding that not only has Lehman suffered the loss of his ability to walk, but he continues to have pain caused by nerve issues.
The possibility of the defendants appealing the ruling and the amount of the financial award also remain. A medical review panel that looked at Lehman's claims before the lawsuit was filed issued an opinion that the medical professionals who treated him at the Dunlap clinic did not deviate from the standard of care. Shewmaker referenced that opinion in his ruling, but disagreed that Schlabach followed the protocols he should have to properly diagnose Lehman's condition.
"Defendant Dr. Schlabach failed to recognize the symptoms that were starting to develop on March 10, 2005, when his examination of Mr. Lehman occurred," Shewmaker wrote.
Leatherman hopes to bring the case to a conclusion soon so the Lehmans can move forward.
“It’s been a long fight, and these very are deserving people," Leatherman said.
Source: http://www.news-sentinel.com/news/local/Goshen-couple-wins--4-25-million-in-medical-malpractice-case