A Portland jury has awarded $10 million to John Douglas Cox, a 62-year-old diesel mechanic, in a case underscoring the critical role of timely and appropriate imaging in diagnosing spinal emergencies.
The jury allocated 80% of the fault to Kaiser, which was not a defendant at trial, and 20% to the treating physicians.
The case centers on a December 2021 emergency department visit in which Cox presented with sepsis and rapidly progressing paralysis beginning at the T7 level. He was later diagnosed with a spinal epidural abscess, a condition requiring urgent imaging and surgical decompression to prevent permanent neurological injury…