More than six years after Trent Hughes sustained a spinal cord injury in an accident that left him a paraplegic, a Riverside County jury has awarded a $16.5 million California medical malpractice verdict to him and his wife Lisa in their personal injury case against neurosurgeon Christopher Pham.
Trent, who at the time was 41, began experiencing numbness in his toes and feet, as well as excruciating pain in his lower back while on an off-road vehicle excursion on November 2, 2003. He was flown to a Palm Springs, California where, at about 2pm, he was diagnosed with a spine fracture.
Hospital records indicate that Pham, who was on call, was supposed to arrive at the Emergency Room within 20 minutes after he was contacted to assess the extent of Trent's injuries. However, he didn't see the patient until the following afternoon. Also, Pham did not perform the surgery to decompress Trent's spinal cord until the day after that one.
The couple's Riverside County medical malpractice lawsuit contends that by the time Pham conducted the surgery, Trent's spinal cord injury had become irreversible and, as a result, he is now paralyzed.
Before the accident, the Hughes, who are former high school sweethearts, ran a successful air conditioning business. Following Trent's catastrophic injuries, they lost their business.
The jury's verdict against Pham comes after a re-trial. A verdict issued by a jury after the case was tried in January 2004 was overturned because of defense counsel misconduct during their closing. The couple has already settled their medical malpractice claim against Desert Regional Medical Center.
The $16.5 million Riverside County medical malpractice verdict includes damages for medical expenses, rehabilitative costs, loss of consortium, pain and suffering, and lost income.
Surgical Errors
Surgical mistakes, delayed surgeries, wrong site surgeries, and accidentally leaving a medical instrument or another object in the patient following surgery are surgical errors that can be grounds for California medical malpractice. These are not errors that can be fixed easily. In some cases, medical mistakes can prove catastrophic for the patient.
Riverside jury awards Arizona couple $16.5 million in medical malpractice suit, Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2010
Former valley doctor found negligent, Mydesert.com, February 2, 2010
