$350,000 Settlement for Ohio Prisoner in Medical Neglect Suit
$350,000 Settlement for Ohio Prisoner in Medical Neglect Suit
Joshua Leach, a prisoner at Belmont Correctional Institution (BCI) in Ohio, has settled his medical neglect suit with BCI and other state defendants for $350,000. Leach filed suit after Dr. Inder Grujal, a physician working at BCI – and also a named defendant – allegedly had written a treatment plan for Leach that was not followed, resulting in a disability. The parties settled on December 28, 2012.
Dr. Grujal was allegedly the physician on duty at BCI on December 22, 2008, when Leach, approximately 30, complained to him of leg numbness and hand weakness. After Leach had been taken to a nearby emergency room and examined that same day by a different physician, the physician recommended to Grujal that an MRI be done. Grujal reportedly followed that advice and wrote an instruction “to have that patient referred to the neurologist in the next week.” However, it was not done a week later. Instead, on the same day that Leach had been examined, Grujal allegedly wrote an order for an electromyogram/nerve conduction study (EMG/NCS), which was scheduled for February 11, 2009 – over a month later.
The EMG/NCS was performed on schedule, and on February 12, 2009, according to allegations, an MRI had been done on Leach at Ohio State University’s Medical Center, which revealed a neck injury suggesting an “acute and/or chronic cord injury.” The injury reportedly required two surgeries on February 17, 2009, including a C6-C7 anterior cervical discectomy and a cervical fusion. Leach was diagnosed with a “C6-C7 herniated disc with myelopathy” after surgery.
In 2010, Leach filed suit in the Ohio Court of Claims against BCI, Corrections Medical Center, Dr. Grujal, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, and the State of Ohio. Leach accused the defendants of medical negligence for their failure to have his injury timely diagnosed and treated. Leach claimed that the defendants deviated from standard health care, causing him to suffer a permanent disability. Consequently, Leach sought damages for diminished quality of life and earning ability, past and future medical costs, physical and mental suffering, and loss of income.
Before and after settling the suit, the defendants denied liability and stated that delay in treatment did not alter Leach’s diagnosis.
Joshua Leach was represented by Lawrence J. Scanlon and Michael J. Elliot of Akron. See: Leach v. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction, Court of Claims of Ohio, Case no. 2010-09337.
Source: The Ohio Trial Reporter
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Related legal case
Leach v. Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
| Year | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Court of Claims of Ohio, Case no. 2010-09337 |
| Level | Court of Claims |
| Conclusion | Settlement |
| Damages | 350,000 |