Kaiser – Delayed Diagnosis of Thoracic Disc Disease / Paraplegia

We negotiated a $1,225,000 settlement on behalf of a fifty-six-year-old man who became paraplegic due to delayed diagnosis and treatment of severe and progressive thoracic disc disease. The man went to Vallejo Kaiser complaining of patches of numbness on his feet. His doctor believed he had peripheral neuropathy and recommended a neurology consultation. At that consultation, the neurologist erroneously settled upon a diagnosis of Cauda Equina Syndrome, which is in fact a medical emergency, yet immediate action still was not taken. If proper diagnostic testing had been conducted, a correct diagnosis would have been made at this time and it would have prevented his paralysis. While he waited for appropriate diagnostic tests, his numbness worsened and he eventually needed a wheelchair. An MRI ultimately showed multiple herniations of the thoracic spine causing central cord impingement and neuro foraminal narrowing. Still, nothing was done. It was another two weeks before emergency surgery was performed. After undergoing two surgeries he was completely paralyzed.