“We are very pleased that the jury found in favor of our clients,” said Bricker, who tried the case with co-counsel, Burt Rosenblatt of Eli Bettini Ulman & Rosenblatt in Phoenix, Ariz. “The jurors certainly understood how hard it was to put a price tag on the pain and suffering Trent and Lisa have endured for the past seven years—misery they will continue to endure for the rest of their lives.”
The jury found Christopher Pham, DO, a neurosurgeon, negligent for failing to provide timely and appropriate medical care to Trent Hughes in November, 2003.
According to court documents, Hughes was on an off-road vehicle excursion in Glamis, Ariz. on November 2, 2003, when he hit a bump and began to experience searing pain in his lower back and numbness in his feet and toes.
He was immediately airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, Calif., where he was seen at approximately 2:00 p.m. and diagnosed with a fracture of his spine.
Although the Hospital records show that Pham was on call that day and that he was required to report to the Emergency Room within 20 minutes of the call to evaluate Mr. Hughes’ condition, evidence shows he failed to examine Mr. Hughes until the following afternoon, November 3, 2003.
“By the time Dr. Pham finally operated on November 4, 2003, the damage to the spinal cord had become irreversible and it was simply too late to restore any function. As a direct result of Dr. Pham’s failure to see Mr. Hughes and to operate immediately on November 2, 2003, Mr. Hughes was left a paraplegic.”
In practice for over 50 years, Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP is a full-service law firm with many practice areas, including bankruptcy, receivership, and reorganization, business and corporate and employment law.