An Ohio jury has awarded $880,000 to the family of a 76-year-old man who ended up a quadriplegic after a radiologist failed to spot his broken neck on a CT scan.

Ronald Nielson was rushed in 2019 to the ED at Knox Community Hospital in Mount Vernon, after falling at Apple Valley Lake. Doctors put a neck brace on him and performed a CT scan, but radiologist Dr. Nicholas Peponis did not spot the fracture in his neck.

Nielsen was mobile when he returned home, but woke up the next day unable to feel his arms and legs. He was taken to OSU Wexner Medical Center where scans showed a broken neck and bleeding along his spinal cord. While ED doctors performed surgery, the hematoma caused him to suffer quadriplegia, making him unable to leave the hospital or rehab facilities, according to the Leesburg Tuttle, the law firm representing his family.
Nielsen died three months later from complications of pneumonia.

His estate filed a suit against Riverside Radiology & Interventional Associates, a partner of Knox Community Hospital and a practice under radiology services company. While the jury ruled that his death was unrelated to the radiologist’s mistake, it said Peponis was responsible for his paralysis.

“This trial was a real battle against very seasoned defense attorneys and Craig and John fought every step of the way to ensure justice was obtained for Ron,” said the law firm in a Facebook post. "Our firm is honored to represent this wonderful family and hold this negligent medical provider accountable."

CT Homepage