COLLIN COUNTY, Texas — A Collin County jury awarded a man allegedly left paraplegic following a botched spinal surgery $6.2 million in damages, the man’s lawyers say.
It’s believed to be the largest medical negligence award in Collin County history, according to the press release.
The jurors ruled in favor of Lamar County resident Bill Proctor, who alleged in a lawsuit that he suffered permanent neurological damage at the age of 57 as a result of elective lumbar spinal surgery in 2018.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020, names Dr. Mark Viktor Silver as a defendant, court records show.
Proctor underwent the surgery to alleviate back pain, and the lawsuit alleges that during the surgery, Dr. Mark Viktor Silver overly stretched or compressed nerves affecting mobility.
The surgical team with Advanced Intra-Operative Monitoring Specialists also failed to properly perform neuromonitoring procedures to detect and communicate nerve conduction in real time, the lawsuit alleged.
After a week-long trial, jurors found Silver 60% responsible for Proctor’s injuries, which under Texas law resulted in him being held accountable for all damages, according to the law firm Laird and McCloskey, which represented Proctor.
“This was a clear case of medical negligence, and we are pleased that the jury agreed,” said Mr. McCloskey. “These were life-altering mistakes made by medical professionals entrusted with Bill’s health and well-being. Although nothing can change what happened, our hope is that this result brings him and his family peace.”
Silver is appealing the ruling, court records show.
"The evidence and testimony during the trial clearly showed that Dr. Silver was not notified of changes in the patient’s condition during the operation. It is important to note that Mr. Proctor settled with other parties in the case," a spokesperson for Silver said. "Dr. Silver has been appointed as Chief of Neurosurgery at multiple large medical facilities, and never had a medical malpractice claim after 19 years of practicing neurosurgery and several thousand of successful complex brain and spine surgeries."
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