A man has been left with locked-in syndrome due to negligent doctors.
In 2015, Jonathan Buckelew was rushed to North Fulton Hospital in Georgia after experiencing dizziness and disorientation following a neck adjustment at a chiropractor’s office.
Unbeknownst to him, that routine appointment would mark the beginning of a life-changing ordeal. Jonathan suffered a series of medical complications that ultimately left him with locked-in syndrome (LiS)—a rare and severe neurological condition caused by damage to the brainstem, typically due to a stroke.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, LiS is “a rare and serious neurological disorder that happens when a part of your brainstem is damaged, usually from a stroke.” It adds, “People with LiS have total paralysis but still have consciousness and their normal cognitive abilities.”
Now 34 years old, Jonathan requires 24-hour care provided by his parents and a team of nurses. He is only able to communicate by blinking or by using a keypad with his nose.
His parents, Jack and Janice Buckelew, have completely renovated their home to meet Jonathan’s complex care needs.
“He wants to do things, he wants to go places. It just breaks our heart to see him like he is,” Jack told Atlanta News First.
Jonathan became progressively less responsive during his chiropractor appointment, prompting an emergency trip to the hospital. At the ER, medical staff reportedly failed to recognize he was having a stroke.
Crucial time was lost—twelve hours passed before doctors diagnosed the stroke. By then, Jonathan had developed locked-in syndrome.
A court ruled that while the chiropractor and the hospital itself were not liable, an ER doctor and a radiologist were found to be “grossly negligent” for failing to identify the stroke in a timely manner.
As a result, Jonathan was awarded $75 million in damages—believed to be the largest emergency room malpractice verdict in Georgia’s history.
“Jonathan was having a stroke when he came to the hospital and they missed it,” said his attorney, Lloyd Bell, speaking to Atlanta News First. “The people who were responsible for reading the radiographs misread it. The ER doctor saw this patient was having all these signs and symptoms of stroke and never called a stroke alert, and they had policies in place that they were supposed to follow certain protocols to reach the correct diagnosis, and they didn’t follow their policies and procedures.”
The jury sided with this assessment and found the two doctors liable. One of the ER doctors appealed the decision, but the appellate court upheld the original ruling. That doctor has now submitted an appeal to Georgia’s state Supreme Court, which has yet to decide whether it will hear the case.
Source: unilad.com