Man Seeks $2.2 M for Nerve Damage, in Court
8-10-2016 00:15:00


     PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) - A man seeks $2.2 million in Multnomah County Circuit Court, claiming botched post-surgical care left him with nerve damage in his hand.

     John Jungwirth sued Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, Kaiser Foundation Health Plans of the Northwest dba Kaiser Permanente; Northwest Permanente, P.C., Hope Orthopedics of Oregon, abn of Willamette Orthopedic Group LLC, Salem Emergency Physicians’ Service, P.C., six doctors and a physican’s assistant.
     According to the lawsuit, Jungwirth had carpal tunnel surgery at (non-Kaiser) Hope Orthopedics in July, 2014. Over the several days he had increasing pain, swelling, numbness and tingling in his left hand, arm and especially pinky and ring fingers, it says.
     A CT scan at (non-Kaiser) Salem Hospital’s emergency room revealed a hematoma along Jungwirth’s ulnar nerve, according to the complaint. But the doctor who found it, and others who later saw Jungwirth at Kaiser and Hope Orthopedics, merely prescribed additional pain medication and did not try to decompress the hematoma, according to the complaint.
     Finally, a week after the surgery, because of the continuing pain, the surgeon saw Jungwirth again, according to the complaint.
     “He began to remove Mr. Jungwirth’s sutures at which point blood spontaneously drained from the hematoma,” the complaint states.
     Jungwirth contends that even after the hematoma drained, Hope Orthopedics still did not treat it correctly. He claims he now has nerve damage as a result of all the delays.
     John Jungwirth seeks costs of suit, a jury trial, $700,000 in economic damages and $1.5 million in non-economic damages. He is represented by Kirstin L. Abel of Bodyfelt Mount in Portland.
16CV20888