PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. – A Florida man settled this month after losing all of his limbs following a medical procedure back in 2019, according to court records obtained by News 6.
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The lawsuit was originally filed in 2021 and claimed that the man — Chad Gerlaugh — had suffered a spinal cord injury from a crash over two decades prior, which left him a quadriplegic.
As told by the Tampa Bay Times, Gerlaugh still managed to live his life, hunting with his father by using a modified bow and rifle and earning a living by performing technical support for Spectrum, the outlet reported.
But in 2019, Gerlaugh developed a kidney stone, which required him to go to Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater to have it removed, the lawsuit stated.
However, while recovering after the surgery, Gerlaugh’s blood pressure dropped dangerously low — the result of an infection that ultimately turned into sepsis, court documents revealed.
“Before the surgery, Dr. Sherman did not perform any test, including urinalysis, on Chad Gerlaugh to determine if he had any ongoing infection,” the lawsuit stated.
According to the lawsuit, there was a “significant delay” in properly diagnosing and treating Gerlaugh’s condition — even after doctors were made aware of his declining blood pressure — and he consequently suffered a heart attack and limb ischemia, which ultimately resulted in all four of his limbs needing to be amputated.
After filing the medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital, the case dragged on for years.
Court records show that the case was scheduled to go to a jury trial this month. However, a mediation report filed on Feb. 5 reveals that Gerlaugh and the hospital settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.
News 6 has attached the full complaint, which can be read below:
Gerlaugh Complaint by Anthony Talcott on Scribd