A woman and her husband filed a medical malpractice case after she was admitted for a laminectomy and became a quadriplegic as a result of surgery.

Then 56-year-old Patricia J. was experiencing tingling in the cervical area of her spine, arms, and hands as well as significant pain, according to a report by Lohud.com. Under medical recommendation, she reportedly presented herself for surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, N.Y. in 2009.

The medical malpractice case was later filed after Patricia allegedly suffered from a surgical spinal cord injury leading to her paralysis. According to her counsel, the surgical procedure allowed for a portion of a broken bone to become stuck in the protective sheath surrounding the spinal cord, causing a contusion.

The surgeons involved in the procedure—Dr. George Alexander Jones and Dr. Daniel Spitzer—noted in their surgical records that there were no adverse situations that arose during the laminectomy. Patricia’s attorney countered this claim by indicating monitors revealed spinal cord injury during the process. Purportedly, this was alert was kept quiet by the doctors.

What is a Laminectomy?

According to the Mayo Clinic, a laminectomy creates space for the spinal cord by removing the back part of the vertebra that covers the canal it inhabits. This is especially helpful in medical situations where the canal has become narrowed through calcification, projections of bony growth present in arthritic conditions and as part of the normal aging process.

Removing the lamina is a last course of treatment after physical therapy, medications, and injections have been tried to bring symptoms under control. Symptoms of the narrowed space indicating the possible need for a future surgical intervention are often described as overt muscle weakness, a feeling of numbness or ‘pins and needles’ affecting the nerves coming out of the spine at the affected region.

A laminectomy is also known as a decompression surgery because it can alleviate pressure on the spinal cord and allow a normal return of nerve function.

The Medical Malpractice Case

According to the Lohud.com report, Patricia experienced a catastrophic drop in blood pressure the day after surgery with paralysis. It wasn’t until a purported three hours after this event that a CT scan was ordered. The scan was interpreted by a radiologist independent from the hospital and the plaintiff was diagnosed with a spinal epidural hematoma.

What is a Spinal Epidural Hematoma?

A spinal epidural hematoma is a collection of blood from active bleeding into the epidural space in the spinal canal, according to Wikipedia. The epidural space is the outermost space in the spinal canal outside of the protective covering of the spinal cord. This collection puts undue pressure on the cord.

The two operating physicians and surgical group claimed the plaintiff suffered from a spinal cord stroke rather than the hematoma and they maintained this throughout the trial. Despite this, the complainant, now 66-years-old and confined to a wheelchair for life, was awarded $56 million dollars by the jury as a part of her medical malpractice lawsuit.