Jury finds for physician in spinal cord injury suit
By Admin | January 05, 2024
A St. Louis County jury sided with a Des Peres orthopedic surgeon whom a former patient alleged had failed to properly diagnose and treat a condition that led to a spinal cord injury requiring the plaintiff to use a wheelchair.
William O’Connell and his wife, Patty, filed the medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Kevin Rutz and Orthopedic Specialists in 2017.
The complaint was lodged two years after a series of four surgical procedures over six months to address O’Connell’s lower back, neck and shoulder pain, leg weakness when standing, and decreased balance. A second opinion sought the following year led to further surgery in June 2016.
The jury returned its verdict in 20 minutes after a five-day trial, said defense attorney Halle Dimar of Brown & James.
“Even though plaintiff had general symptoms that might be myelopathy — or numerous other things instead — he lacked any of the findings that point specifically to the diagnosis,” she said.
“The plaintiff also had an uphill battle on causation, as Mr. O’Connell’s condition waxed and waned for some time after his care with our client and he didn’t dramatically deteriorate until many...(More)
For more info please read, Jury finds for physician in spinal cord injury suit, by Missouri Lawyers
