{"id":"8c976b61-90aa-4e60-b569-152a0d9918b2","slug":"a-medico-legal-review-of-cases-involving-quadriplegia-following-cervical-spine-surgery-is-there-an-argument-for-a-no-fault-compensation-system","title":"A medico-legal review of cases involving quadriplegia following cervical spine surgery: Is there an argument for a no-fault compensation system?","authors":["Nancy E. Epstein"],"abstract":"Background: To determine whether patients who become quadriplegic following cervical spine surgery are adequately compensated by our present medico-legal system. The outcomes of malpractice suits obtained from Verdict Search (East Islip, NY, USA), a medico-legal journal, were evaluated over a 20-year period. Although the present malpractice system generously rewards many quadriplegic patients with substantial settlements/ Plaintiffs' verdicts, a subset receive lesser reimbursements (verdicts/settlements], while others with defense verdicts receive no compensatory damages. Methods: Utilizing Verdict Search, 54 cases involving quadriplegia following cervical spine surgery were reviewed for a 20-year interval (1988–2008). The reason(s) for the suit, the defendants, the legal outcome, and the time to outcome were identified. Operations included 25 anterior cervical procedures, 22 posterior cervical operations, 1 circumferential cervical procedure, and 6 cases in which the cervical operations were not defined. Results: The four most prominent legal allegations for suits included negligent surgery (47 cases), lack of informed consent (23 cases), failure to diagnose/treat (33 cases), and failure to brace (15 cases). Forty-four of the 54 suits included spine surgeons. There were 19 Plaintiffs' verdicts (average US $5.9 million, range US $540,000-US $18.4 million), and 20 settlements (average US $2.8 million, range US $66,500-US $12.0 million). Fifteen quadriplegic patients with defense verdicts received no compensatory damages. The average time to verdicts/settlements was 4.3 years. Conclusions: For 54 patients who were quadriplegic following cervical spine surgery, 15 (28%) with defense verdicts received no compensatory damages. Under a No-Fault system, quadriplegic patients would qualify for a “reasonable” level of compensation over a “shorter” time frame.","thumbnailUrl":null,"publishDate":"2010-04-07T00:00:00.000Z","doi":"10.4103/2152-7806.62261","categories":["Spine","Original Article"],"fullTextUrl":"https://surgicalneurologyint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/3109/SNI-01-03.pdf"}