Surgery mistake leads to multi-million dollar settlement

ABC 7 News

Surgery mistake leads to multi-million dollar settlement

John Garcia

May 4, 2004 - The family of a Nebraska man is awarded more than $11-million for a surgical mistake that left the man a quadriplegic. Terry Graves later died from complications as a result of injuries sustained during a procedure on his neck by doctors at Northwestern Hospital.

Terry Graves went to Northwestern Hospital to correct a problem with his neck dating to back to a car accident years earlier. By the time he left he had no use of his limbs and was on a ventilator. Doctors say a device they were using in surgery failed. After beginning arguments in court last week attorneys for both sides settled the case Tuesday for $11.4-million.

A little more than three years ago, Terry Graves left a Nebraska Hospital a quadriplegic. It was an emotional time for his family. He died just over a year later. Attorneys for his family say none of this suffering ever should have happened.

He was a strong robust man and the founder of the Johnny Cash Fan Club in Nebraska. He entered Northwestern Hospital for relatively minor neck surgery several years earlier. But during that surgery something went terribly wrong. He was lying on his stomach on the operating table, his head held in place by a brace called the CXF One. But when doctors loosened the brace it slipped.

"Terry's head had fallen straight down 80 degrees toward the floor and the doctor from above saw that terry's spine had snapped at the level of cervical five," said Michael Cogan, Cogan, McNabola & Dolan.

His attorneys put a graphic together to show what they believe happened. The doctor who was performing the operation later described it in his chart. "When the pins disengaged from the skull, the patient's head began to drop toward the floor. I attempted to grasp the head but could not grab it."

With his spine severed Terry lost all movement from the neck down. He was on a ventilator and in need of care 24-hours a day.

"It was a full time vigil for this family," said Cogan.

Terry left behind a wife and several children.

In court attorneys for the hospital blamed manufacturers of the device while the manufacturers blamed the hospital.

Terry's family was just relieved to settle the case and end their nightmare.

"They were glad it was over. They had had enough. They were ready to truly bury Terry and put this incident, this tragedy behind them," said Cogan.

Terry Graves' family is donating some of the settlement money to the Nebraska Hospital that treated him after the accident. A spokesman for Northwestern says their lawyers uncovered what they claim was a series of other instances across the country where that CXF device failed. None of them, however, with the tragic result that Terry Graves suffered.