New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog
A 54-year old man had to endure increased pain and suffering due to a medical misdiagnosis, sources have told a reporter. The man had gone in for a relatively routine procedure, an Epidural Spinal Injection (ESI). These procedures have become somewhat commonplace in recent years. The procedure involves the delivery of steroids directly into the epidural space in the spine by means of an injection. The patient usually receives a local anesthetic before the injection, and the area surrounding the injection location is thoroughly disinfected.
The problem with this man’s case is that several days after he received the injection, he was in the emergency room (ER) with a temperature in excess of 101 degrees, and complaining of severe headache and the loss of bladder and bowel control. He was given one dose of antibiotics by the ER physician, and an attending neurosurgeon later discontinued the antibiotics and replaced this with a treatment of steroids. The patient remained in the hospital for four days. During this time, he was not given any more antibiotics, and was sent home after being diagnosed with arachnoiditis.
As more time would pass, the man’s pain did not diminish; rather it continued to get worse. His experience with the loss of bladder and bowel control had also progressed. A source was also told that the man returned to the ER where he was readmitted. This time, however, the man was correctly diagnosed as having contracted bacterial meningitis. When diagnosed in its early stages, bacterial meningitis is treatable.
As a further part of the reps followup, we learned that there are a number of potential side effects of the ESI. These include
• Localized increase in pain
• Non-positional headaches resolving within 24 hours
• Facial flushing
• Anxiety
• Sleeplessness
• Fever the night of injection
• High blood sugar
• A transient decrease in immunity because of the suppressive effect of the steroid
• Stomach ulcers
• Severe arthritis of the hips (avascular necrosis)
• Cataracts
The side effects may also include bacterial meningitis. It is therefore the assertion that following the ESI that the attending physicians in the hospital ER failed to diagnose the man’s contraction of bacterial meningitis that led to his having further complications, and greatly increased his pain and suffering. Doctors in Queens and Staten Island deal with these problems.
Did you or someone you love suffer unexplained complications after surgery? Did your doctor fail to diagnose your cancer early enough? Was your baby injured during labor and delivery? If you were injured by a medical mistake, car accident, or other accident caused by someone else’s carelessness, a New York Medical Malpractice Attorney can help you find the answers you need.