Paralyzed Man Wins $11.7 Million in Medical Malpractice Suit

By Daniel Hawn

Published on July 06, 2007

Jurors in the case said Dr. Andrew Lawson was responsible for the injuries Joey Crumes, 45, suffered after being treated at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

According to the lawsuit, in 2004 Crumes went to the hospital's emergency room with a severe headache. He told doctors that in 1993 he underwent surgery to remove a cancer from his right sinus area. In that procedure, doctors removed a tumor, as well as Crumes' right eye and a piece of his sinus cavity.

Crumes' attorney said that Lawson, a radiologist, ordered a CT scan, but that Crumes was eventually discharged from the hospital with pain medication and instructions to seek additional care if his condition deteriorated.

Five days after being released from the hospital, Crumes suffered a severe stroke and fell into a coma. Doctors at the hospital found that an infection had spread to his brain.

The stroke left Crumes paralyzed on the left side of his body. He spent 11 months in the hospital and is now confined to a bed and wheelchair.

According to the lawsuit, if Crumes had received proper care when he was treated at the emergency room, he would not have suffered the debilitating stroke.

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