Chicago Man’s Partial Paralysis Leads to Medical Malpractice Settlement

A Cook County resident filed a medical negligence lawsuit against a neurosurgeon and neurologist who allegedly failed to correctly diagnose a cancerous growth on the man’s spine. The delay in the diagnosis allowed the tumor to grow larger, which resulted in partial paralysis and permanent neurological deficits.

This particular Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit demonstrates the importance of a timely diagnosis. A review of the case facts indicates that if this man’s tumor had been diagnosed earlier that his resulting paralysis would not have developed to the same degree of severity. This issue of a delay in diagnosis lies at the center of many Chicago medical negligence cases.

The 50-some year-old male presented to the physicians at NorthShore University Health System, f/k/a Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, with complaints of lower back pain and leg numbness. An MRI was ordered, which did in fact show the cancerous growth on the spine. However, the neurosurgeon didn’t identify the growth and the neurologist reportedly didn’t view the MRI film prior to reaching the incorrect diagnosis.

In this man’s case the failure to diagnose cancer resulted in permanent neurological injuries. In many cases, a delay or misdiagnosis of malignant cancer can be deadly. Kreisman Law Offices recently settled a Chicago medical malpractice lawsuit involving a delay in diagnosing lung cancer that contributed to the woman’s death from the lung cancer. In our opinion if her physicians had diagnosed her cancer earlier there is a good chance she would still be alive today.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Chicago medical malpractice lawsuits for over 30 years within those areas in and around Cook County, including Northbrook, Carol Stream, Naperville, and Burbank.