In a disturbing case of medical negligence, a young boy suffered not one, but two devastating mistakes at the hands of trusted medical professionals.

In 2003, 11 year old Kaleb Davis was transferred to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for treatment after a tree limb fell on his left shoulder.  Doctors initially gave the child a blood thinner called Heparin as part of his treatment.  A few days later, after being alerted that the boy could no longer feel his legs, doctors realized that he had been bleeding through his spinal cord.

Only then was it discovered through hospital imaging that the tree limb had actually damaged the brachial plexus nerves of the spinal cord and that the dose of Heparin initially given to Kaleb was the cause of further bleeding.

In addition to this terrible mistake, the medical professionals then discovered a subdural hematoma in the child’s skull.  It was determined that a halo needed to be placed on the 11 year old’s head in order to stabilize his neck and spine.

Unfortunately, in yet another shocking incident of negligence, one of the four screws used to attach the halo to the skull was screwed in too far.  And not just a little too far.  Imaging revealed that it had been placed nearly ¾ inch too far, equating to about 36 one half turns too many.

The results were devastating.  The screw caused further bleeding in the brain and hematoma, causing the child to suffer a stroke, seizures and the inability to eat or breathe on his own.  The 11 year old boy was discharged to his parents in a diaper and a wheelchair.

Kaleb still suffers debilitating brain injuries from the incidents.  He will likely never be able to live independently or support himself with a regular job.  And almost all of this can be attributed to blatant medical negligence.

Perhaps even more shocking, however, is the fact that the medical staff denies any and all responsibility for essentially destroying the life a young, healthy child.

In late 2007, the trial began against the hospital and medical staff.  Recently, the jury returned a guilty verdict after deliberating only three days.

They awarded Kaleb $10 million and his mother $437,093 for medical expenses.

This is yet another tragic example of how one or two “mistakes” by a doctor or medical professional can have devastating consequences.