Patient Dies as a Result of Nerve Root Injection in Office by Unqualified Provider, $1.7M Verdict

A patient’s death allegedly caused by a negligently administered nerve root injection has resulted in a $1.7 million verdict, states a report from the June 2012Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements, and Experts. The patient, age 24, received a nerve root injection and experienced complications that resulted in oxygen deprivation and death from anoxic encephalopathy. In the subsequent lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed that the patient’s spinal nerve root sleeve was pierced by the nerve root injection and that the solution mixed with the patient’s cerebral spinal fluid and caused paralysis of the diaphragm. The plaintiff alleged that the physician had not obtained the patient’s informed consent for the procedure and that the procedure was performed negligently without the use of guided fluoroscopy to ensure that the medications were administered correctly.