Maryland Surgery Malpractice Lawsuit Results in $3.5M Verdict

A Maryland jury has awarded a woman $3.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed over a surgical mistake that rendered her a paraplegic. 

The case was filed by Victoria Little, 53, from Harford County, against Dr. Roger E. Schneider and Dr. Mark D. Gonze in 2008. According to Little’s claims, the doctors committed medical malpractice during surgery in 2007, causing her to suffer spinal damage and blood loss.

Little went to the doctors for surgery to repair blocked arteries, but the complaint alleged that the doctors failed to meet accepted medical standards and used an inappropriate grafting technique. According to a report by the Baltimore Sun, the operating room errors caused Little to become a paraplegic, leaving her unable to walk and with constant pain in her legs.

Last week, the Harford County Circuit Court jury that heard the Maryland surgery malpractice lawsuit found for the plaintiff, awarding $1.3 million in noneconomic damages, $2 million for future medical expenses, and $200,000 for prior medical expenses. The noneconomic damages are likely to be reduced pursuant to the Maryland damage cap.

Attorneys for the doctors indicate that they will appeal the verdict, and say that the doctors met standards of medical care, but that the procedure carried risks regardless of the skill of the surgeons.