A woman who suffered complications after having spine surgery won a $3 million settlement, the New Jersey Law Journal reported Aug. 23.
The woman had a same-day microdiscectomy in February 2018 at JFK University Medical Center in Edison, N.J., the report said. After surgery, she reported severe pain and numbness, and nurses noticed she had urinary incontinence.
A nurse told the patient's surgeon, Gregory Przybylski, MD, but he did not remember this information being shared with him, the report said. The patient was discharged, and her records did not indicate incontinence.
Six days after surgery, the patient was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., after increased back and leg pain and bladder and bowel incontinence. A resident found signs of cauda equina syndrome and had a revision laminectomy.
The patient sued JFK Medical Center, Dr. Przybylski and several nurses. The defendants said the patient did not suffer from cauda equina syndrome during and immediately after her hospital stay and that urinary incontinence predated her surgery.
The $3 million settlement was reached July 3 after mediation.