Hospital Won't Challenge 5.7 Million Dollar Verdict Awarded to Paralyzed Man

By Brittany Golledge

Published on September 28, 2005

After a three-week trial, an Ada County jury awarded 5.7 million in damages Saturday to Nathan Ogden, a 30-year-old paralyzed man who lost much of his remaining upper body mobility as a result of his fall from an unsecured gurney at St. Luke's Medical Center. The jury determined that St. Luke's had not followed the minimum standard of care in treating Ogden, who now has only limited use of his arms and no use of his hands.

Ogden had developed pneumonia in February of 2003 and was taken to St. Luke's for treatment after his wife was unable to rouse him from bed. Ogden, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a skiing accident in 2001, was unconscious when he was wheeled in for x-rays by hospital staff. According to testimony, he was positioned at an angle and was not secured to the gurney before he fell and broke his neck.

The jury awarded compensatory damages to Ogden and his family for lost wages, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and loss of companionship.

While hospital representatives maintain that staff never departed from the appropriate standard of care, they have taken responsibility for the accident and have agreed not to challenge the verdict.

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