The plaintiff, age forty-seven, was undergoing physical therapy in June 2002 with the use of an electrical stimulation machine. The machine had an emergency stop cable attached, which allowed a patient to quickly stop it in an emergency. During the plaintiff’s session, the physical therapist left him unattended. While the therapist was away the plaintiff believed he experienced an electrical shock. In a panic, he shouted for one or two minutes, but no one responded. When the physical therapist finally entered the room the plaintiff was partially unresponsive. The plaintiff had undergone the same treatment without difficulty three days earlier.

The plaintiff alleged post-traumatic stress disorder and pain disorder, which resulted from his emotional conversion disorder. The plaintiff claimed that a therapist should have remained within audible range of him at all times and if that had been done he would have been heard. The plaintiff also alleged that the clinic failed to provide him with the emergency stop cable.

The defendants contended that the physical therapist’s aide and physical therapist were within audible range and came to the plaintiffs aide immediately. The clinic claimed that it was not it policy to provide the emergency stop cable because the machine had multiple built-in safety redundancies which would prevent it from emitting excess electrical currents. The clinic also claimed that the cable was there and was plugged in. The defendants also claimed that there were no neurological findings of any injury.

According to a published account, the manufacturer of the electrical stimulation machine settled for $50,000 prior to trial. A jury returned a $1,461,532 verdict against all the defendants. Post-trial motions were pending.

With permission from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts; Lewis Laska, Editor, 901 Church St., Nashville, TN 37203-3411, 1-800-298-6288.