An Oregon jury awarded the plaintiffs in a failed spine surgery case $4.5 million after a procedure "seriously altered [the patient's] sex life with his wife," according to a report in The Oregonian.
Here are five things to know:
1. The plaintiff underwent a corrective procedure in October 2013. However, according to the report, the plaintiff alleges his neurosurgeon did not remove the disc and didn't tell him there were complications with his procedure. The neurosurgeon claims he did inform the plaintiff about the failed surgery.
The plaintiff experienced worsening pain and began to have trouble urinating. He reported numbness in his genital region; the symptoms continue to persist.
2. The plaintiff, who was 27 years old at the time of surgery, and his wife filed suit against the neurosurgeon and his practice.
3. A Circuit Court jury found the neurosurgeon at fault for the plaintiff's injuries and awarded the plaintiff $94,000 in economic losses and $3.5 million in noneconomic damages "for pain and suffering." The jury awarded the plaintiff's wife $1 million "for loss of consortium with her husband."
4. An Oregon Supreme Court ruling in 2016 limits plaintiffs from collecting more than $500,000 in noneconomic damages, a cap originally set in 1987. The Oregon state legislators debated raising or abolishing the cap earlier this year.
5. The neurosurgeon is no longer performing surgery, but continues to practice medicine.