Trial in a major medical malpractice case in Washington ended recently with a $21 million settlement that included confidentiality for the medical facility involved.
The woman sought emergency treatment on September 30, 2022, after experiencing numbness and worsening pain in her legs several months after undergoing spinal fusion surgery.
According to court filings and trial testimony, she arrived at an emergency department by ambulance shortly before noon reporting numbness, tingling, and pain in both legs and her lower back—symptoms that can signal pressure on the spinal cord. However, records showed that no physician evaluated her for approximately five hours after she arrived, despite the facility beginning billing at the time she checked in.
In a key pretrial ruling, the court determined that the defense could not argue that the five-hour delay in evaluating the patient was excusable or customary, effectively establishing liability for that delay. As a result, the trial focused primarily on whether the delay caused the patient’s paralysis and the extent of her damages.
Medical experts for the patient testified that her symptoms required urgent neurological evaluation and transfer to a specialized trauma center where her original spine surgeon practiced. Instead, she remained hospitalized for several days while imaging studies were delayed and specialists were not consulted, according to the plaintiff’s case.
By the time the patient was transferred to the specialized facility several days later, medical records documented that she had lost nearly all movement and sensation in her legs. Surgeons performed emergency spinal surgery the following day to relieve pressure on her spine and stabilize it, but the damage had already become permanent.
Today, the woman requires around-the-clock care and lives in an assisted living facility. She has not been able to return to the home where she had previously lived independently for decades before the incident.
The lawsuit was brought by attorneys Darrell Cochran of PCVA and Colleen Durkin-Peterson, and Cochran tried the case alongside his partners Thomas Vertetis and Bridget Grotz of PCVA. They argued that earlier recognition of the woman’s condition and faster treatment would likely have prevented the progression to paralysis.
“An elderly patient showing classic warning signs of a spinal emergency waited hours without being evaluated by a physician,” Cochran said. “When symptoms like these appear, minutes matter. The evidence showed that critical time was lost, and the delay permanently changed the course of her life.”
The case ultimately resolved with a confidential $21,000,000 settlement reached after the trial had begun, concluding the matter before the jury returned a verdict.
Darrell Cochran Personal Injury Lawyer and the patient’s other attorneys said the resolution will help ensure that she has the resources necessary to cover her significant ongoing medical and caregiving needs for the rest of her life.