Jury awards $17 million in W.Va. medical malpractice suit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - A jury in West Virginia has awarded more than $17 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit to a man who was left paralyzed after undergoing spinal surgery and later suffered a stroke.

The Kanawha County jury made the finding in a lawsuit filed by Michael Rodgers against Dr. John Orphanos.

According to his lawsuit, Rodgers was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center after a 2017 motorcycle accident.

Rodgers was able to move his arms and legs initially but lost motor function and sensation to his lower extremities following surgery.

The suit says the neurosurgeon failed to order a pre-surgical MRI and didn’t use a surgical monitoring device.

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