A man has been afflicted with locked-in syndrome due to medical negligence.
In 2015, Jonathan Buckelew was taken to North Fulton Hospital in Georgia following a visit to a chiropractor for a neck adjustment.
Unbeknownst to him, this appointment would lead to a series of grave health issues, eventually resulting in him developing locked-in syndrome (LiS).
According to the Cleveland Clinic, this condition is “a rare and serious neurological disorder that happens when a part of your brainstem is damaged, usually from a stroke.”
“People with LiS have total paralysis but still have consciousness and their normal cognitive abilities,” it continues.
Now 34 years old, Jonathan requires constant care from his parents and a team of nurses.
He communicates by blinking or using a keypad with his nose.
His parents, Jack and Janice Buckelew, have remodeled their entire home to accommodate Jonathan’s needs.
Jack expressed to Atlanta News First: “He wants to do things, he wants to go places. It just breaks our heart to see him like he is.”
Jonathan’s condition began during his chiropractor session when he felt dizzy and disoriented, becoming progressively less responsive.
He was taken to the emergency room where medical professionals reportedly failed to correctly diagnose his stroke.
Twelve hours elapsed before the correct diagnosis was made. This delay in treatment led to the development of LiS.
A court determined that the chiropractor and the hospital were not responsible for Jonathan’s condition.
However, it was concluded that an ER doctor and a radiologist had been ‘grossly negligent’ for not recognizing that Jonathan was having a stroke.
Jonathan has been awarded $75,000,000 in damages, marking the largest ER malpractice verdict in Georgia’s history.
Attorney Lloyd Bell stated, according to Atlanta News First: “Jonathan was having a stroke when he came to the hospital and they missed it.
“The people who were responsible for reading the radiographs misread it. The ER doctor saw this patient was having all these signs and symptoms of stroke and never called a stroke alert, and they had policies in place that they were supposed to follow certain protocols to reach the correct diagnosis, and they didn’t follow their policies and procedures.”
The jury concurred with this assessment, holding the two doctors responsible. One of the ER doctors attempted to appeal the decision, but an appellate court upheld the ruling against him.
This doctor has now filed an appeal with Georgia’s state supreme court, which has not yet made a decision on whether to review the case.