Connecticut Man Wins $4.2 Million in Misdiagnosis Case

A Connecticut man who was misdiagnosed and subsequently injured during an unnecessary surgery was awarded $4.2 million by a Superior Court jury in New Haven. The verdict was awarded to Gregory Leigh of Wallingford following a 2½-week trial presided over by Judge Robin Wilson. According to allegations leveled in his medical malpractice lawsuit, Leigh’s spinal accessory nerve was permanently damaged in the course of an operation performed by Dr. Daniel Schwartz. Both Schwartz and MidState Medical Group were named defendants in the suit. 

The alleged surgical errors left the plaintiff with nerve palsy and lasting disfigurement of his left shoulder, said Leigh’s attorneys. Consequently, Leigh, who has been a laborer all his life, can no longer extend his left arm or raise it over his head, which will impact his ability to perform normal daily tasks.

“He’s only able to use his right arm and he has horrible memories of the surgery,” said his attorneys following the Superior Court judgement.

Wallingford man wins medical malpractice lawsuit

During the trial, Leigh’s attorneys argued that a medical misdiagnosis was to blame for their client’s permanent injuries and disfigurement.  Suffering from a swollen lymph node, Leigh sought medical attention from Dr. Schwartz in 2008. After examining his patient, Schwartz told Leigh he needed surgery to biopsy/remove the node and scheduled the operation. Lymph node biopsies are one of the common causes of spinal accessory nerve injury, which typically render patients with pain, atrophy and/or paralysis of the shoulder muscles and scapular winging.

Management of such an injury usually entails a multi-pronged approach that includes physical therapy, conservative management and surgery. In the event that physical rehabilitation proves unsuccessful, and the nerve trauma is severe, surgical options may include:

• Primary nerve anastomosis
• Neurolysis
• Cable graft
• Eden-Lange muscle transfer

Legal counsel for Leigh argued that a routine test would have pointed out that Leigh had nothing more than a bacterial infection called “cat scratch disease.”  This disease is triggered by Bartonella henselae bacteria – found in 40 percent of cats – and is spread to the host after being scratched. Since Leigh lives on a farm, where he and his partner have many cats and other stray animals they take in, it was plausible that the swollen node was nothing more than a bacterial infection caused by a cat scratch.

Misdiagnosis of cat scratch disease

Cat scratch disease is self-limiting, and usually resolves on its own over a period of weeks. In some cases where lymph glands remain inflamed, antibiotics are prescribed.  Most patients are back to normal in three to four weeks. Besides lymphadenitis, other symptoms may include chills, fever, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. 

The defendant in this medical malpractice case, Dr. Schwartz, is practicing medicine at Connecticut’s Hartford Hospital. Calls to his lawyer for a statement were not immediately returned. A spokeswoman for Hartford HealthCare, owner of Hartford Hospital and MidState Medical Center released a statement that they “are committed to patient safety.” Spokeswoman Rebecca Stewart added, “It is at the heart of everything we do…We are focused on the important work of improving patient safety and quality within our network and across the country.”

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