Surgeon ‘misplaced’ screws in 12-year-old’s back, causing paralysis, SC lawsuit says
.jpg "A girl and her parents are suing the Medical University of South Carolina.")
A day after a 12-year-old’s spine surgery, the girl couldn’t move her toes or ankles. Two days later, she couldn’t move her hips, knees, ankles and feet, according to a new lawsuit.
More than a week after the procedure to fix her scoliosis at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, a CT scan was taken of her abdomen and pelvis on May 12, 2021, a complaint filed Sept. 4 says.
The pediatric orthopedic surgeon who performed surgery on the girl, who has cerebral palsy, realized three screws he placed in her back looked “somewhat concerning” when he looked at the CT scan, according to the complaint.
He “misplaced” the screws, the complaint says, and recommended that they should be removed.
The 12-year-old spent 11 days with the screws wrongly placed in her back — potentially intruding into her spinal canal — then had them removed during a surgery on May 14, 2021, according to the complaint.
“Unfortunately, due to (the surgeon’s) initial misplacement of the screws and the delay in treatment, the corrective surgery was not successful in reversing (her) status as a paraplegic,” the complaint says.
The girl is paralyzed and still can’t move her lower extremities, according to the complaint.
She and her parents are suing the Medical University of South Carolina for negligence, gross negligence, recklessness and medical malpractice, the complaint shows.
The university declined McClatchy News’ request for comment on Sept. 6, as it does “not comment on matters of active litigation,” according to spokeswoman Faith Arenth.
The surgeon didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Sept. 6.
His medical license was issued in August 2015, according to the South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners. No disciplinary action has been taken against him by the board since then, records show.
Following the girl’s spinal fusion procedure on May 3, 2021, the surgeon believed movement in her lower extremities would “slowly” return, the complaint says.
He reviewed an X-ray of her on the third day of her recovery and told her mother that the surgery was “acceptable” — and that the screws placed in her back were in “an acceptable position,” according to the complaint.
After he realized the screws needed to be taken out, and following the procedure to remove them, the girl was transferred to an in-patient rehabilitation facility in Atlanta, the complaint says.
An expert witness affidavit written by Dr. Harry Shufflebarger, a pediatric spine surgeon based in West Palm Beach, Florida, has been filed in the case.
Shufflebarger, after reviewing the girl’s medical records, wrote that “the defendants deviated from the standard of care and skill generally exercised by physicians under similar conditions,” the filing shows.
According to Shufflebarger, this was partly because the incorrect placement of the screws weren’t discovered in a timely manner, proper scans that would’ve confirmed the location of the screws weren’t ordered, and the girl wasn’t properly monitored or treated after the procedure.
The lawsuit seeks to recover an unspecified amount in actual, consequential and punitive damages.
The girl “continues to suffer severe conscious pain and suffering, permanent injuries, and severe emotional distress,” the complaint says.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 1:00 PM with the headline "Surgeon ‘misplaced’ screws in 12-year-old’s back, causing paralysis, SC lawsuit says."
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