“This man will never speak, never walk, never use one of his arms; probably never breathe again except through a tracheotomy tube and will probably never taste food again—simply because an emergency room doctor decided that he wasn’t worthy of being believed.” – James Wilkens

Last October, a $25 million verdict against a New Jersey emergency room doctor for misdiagnosing an aneurysm in a man now permanently brain damaged proved to be a costly example of what can happen when medical personnel don’t believe their patients, says James Wilkens, one of the nation’s most successful medical malpractice attorneys.

“The public should know that this man will never speak, never walk, never use one of his arms; probably never breathe again except through a tracheotomy tube and will probably never taste food again—simply because an emergency room doctor decided that he wasn’t worthy of being believed,” says Wilkens, senior trial counsel with Duffy & Duffy in Uniondale, NY.

Wilkens mentions that his client, John Stanford, in 2001 was a 40-year-old, unemployed delicatessen worker living in Trenton, New Jersey, when he suddenly began experiencing a severe headache. On November 16, 2001, after five days of severe head and neck pain, and trouble walking, he headed to the emergency room at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Hamilton. There, Dr. Imran Chaudhri, an emergency medicine specialist, noted Stanford’s head and neck pain, as well as fever and sore throat. Dr. Chaudhri ordered a CT scan, which revealed a lesion in Stanford’s brain which possibly was a cyst. The radiologist recommended an MRI study. Instead, Dr. Chaudhri prescribed pain medicine and discharged Stanford.

The next day, Stanford returned to the emergency room by ambulance. Despite the pain medication, his severe headache continued and he was unable to move his right leg. Dr. Chaudrhi again examined him, as did a hospital neurologist. The neurologist opined that Stanford’s pain was imaginary, and Dr. Chaudhri again discharged him. The next day, for the third time, Stanford returned to the hospital, and told doctors he’d fallen at least 15 times since he left the ER the night before. Two more doctors became involved in his care, but there were delays before Stanford finally received an MRI the following morning, which found an aneurysm in the area where the possible cyst had been detected on the CT scan. The aneurysm ruptured, and, despite emergency brain surgery, Stanford sustained permanent brain damage. He is paralyzed, cannot speak or eat, and will likely require 24-hour nursing home care for the rest of his life.

Stanford retained Duffy & Duffy, one of the preeminent medical malpractice firms in the country. Heading up the Stanford trial team was Wilkens, who has numerous record-breaking verdicts to his name including the highest medical malpractice verdict in the nation in 2002—a $94 million verdict for a Brooklyn boy with cerebral palsy. Wilkens filed suit against the hospital and five doctors alleging deviation from the accepted standards of medical care. One of the doctors settled before trial for $300,000.

At the 2008 trial, the plaintiff’s experts included an emergency medicine specialist and a neurologist who testified that Dr. Chaudhri and other doctors involved in Stanford’s care were negligent, which resulted in the brain injury. Other plaintiff’s witnesses included a nurse in the brain injury unit at the nursing home where Stanford now lives, an expert in rehabilitative medicine, and an economist who testified to the cost of Stanford’s care.

Dr. Chaudhri testified that he acted reasonably under the circumstances and that he had not believed Stanford’s complaints of leg weakness during the first ER visit. At his pre-trial deposition, which was read into the trial record, Dr. Chaudhri testified that one reason he didn’t order an MRI was the cost factor. The other defendants also asserted that they did not commit malpractice, but one settled for $1 million after testifying. After all of the evidence was in, the judge dismissed the case against the hospital. The jury found that two of the doctors were not liable for Stanford’s injuries. It found the other three doctors, including Chaudhri, shared liability, and rendered a verdict of $25 million. Since the other doctors found liable had already settled, Dr. Chaudhri was the only defendant liable under the verdict.

Wilkens says the case is a prime example of catastrophic injuries that occur when health care providers are pressured by cost restrictions and other factors, and thus fail to provide reasonable medical care.

“The only key to curing this cycle is for the medical community to police itself to stop malpractice from happening in the first place,” Wilkens says.

Following the verdict, Dr. Chaudhri made a motion to the trial court to set the verdict aside and grant a new trial based upon a claim that the plaintiff’s counsel made impermissible remarks during his closing argument. The plaintiff filed a motion asking the trial judge to reconsider the dismissal of the case against the hospital. Both motions have been argued and are pending.

Dr. Chaudhri’s attorney did not return phone calls seeking comment.