Negligent Blood Draw Results in Catastrophic Injury

A Georgia jury recently awarded a man who was rendered a quadriplegic following a routine blood draw nearly $15 million in lifetime care costs. The man, Cris Nelson, was scheduled to undergo a routine blood draw at an Emory Healthcare clinic outside Atlanta, Georgia. The technician performing the procedure placed Mr. Nelson on an examination table as opposed to a chair, as is the recognized standard of care. During the course of the blood draw, the man complained of being lightheaded and dizzy, but no steps were taken to secure him by the technician. Ultimately, while the technician had turned away from the man, he fell off the examination table and suffered a catastrophic injury to the C3-C4 level of his spinal cord, resulting in quadriplegia. Prior to the injury, he had been a commercial truck driver earning roughly $46,000 annually.

At trial, the defense conceded liability but fought the case on damages, essentially arguing that the cost of providing care to Mr. Nelson, age 51, was not nearly as high as $15 million dollars the plaintiffs were alleging. In support of their case, the Plaintiffs called a number of experts in various fields including, a life care planner, an economic, a vocational rehabilitation counselor, physical therapists, and neurologists, each of whom testified that the injuries that he suffered were severe and permanent, requiring a lifetime of round-the-clock care. The jury agreed.

At STSW, our attorneys routinely handle cases in the Baltimore and Washington D.C. areas in which patients suffer serious and/or catastrophic injuries from falls that could have been prevented. Whether those falls occur in physicians’ offices, a hospital, a nursing home or other care facility, the standards of care require that all such patients be appropriately monitored and that, in many circumstances, fall precautions be implemented. Because these injuries can result in the need for a lifetime of care, it is imperative that you or a loved one who has been victimized retain an attorney who can protect your rights to compensation for your injuries by hiring the various expert witnesses to testify as to your needs now and in the future. Please call our office for a free consultation at (410) 385-2225.