$950,000 For Failure To Make A Timely Diagnosis And/Or Referral

Marisa Schostok settled a case for $950,000 against an emergency department physician and a local hospital for their failure to make a timely diagnosis and/or referral of the patient who was suffering from acute cauda equina syndrome, a serious neurologic condition. The plaintiff, a 40-year-old woman, presented with progressive low back pain, pain that was radiating down her leg, persistent tingling in the leg, numbness in the saddle region and the inability to feel herself urinate, all of which were indicative of cauda equina syndrome, causing potentially severe neurologic involvement. As a result of the untimely diagnosis, she went on to develop permanent nerve damage, resulting in three surgical procedures, the inability to control her bladder, and permanent pain and disability.