February 19, 2008 : Jury Finds Osteopath Not Liable for Injury
After deliberating for three hours, a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania jury on January 28, 2008 found an osteopath not liable for causing injuries to a patient. Partner Joseph Goldberg represented the doctor in the four-day trial.
The 35-year-old plaintiff was injured at work in 2000 and taken to a clinic approved by his workers' compensation carrier for treatment. He was diagnosed with a bruised rib, treated and released. The following week, he returned and saw the defendant doctor. The plaintiff testified that the doctor put him into some kind of a wrestling move that caused an immediate burning sensation in his right shoulder. The plaintiff said he screamed out in pain and, from that day forward, had constant pain in his shoulder until his shoulder surgery for a torn labrum two months later. The doctor’s note has no mention of the shoulder injury or complaints of shoulder pain.
Approximately two weeks after the visit with the defendant, the physical therapy records document a report that plaintiff said he was injured when a “chiropractor” attempted to perform a manipulation. The surgeon testified the tear appeared to be traumatic in nature and had occurred within a few months of the date of the procedure. The plaintiff did not work for the next two and a half years. He submitted a wage loss claim of $75,000 and medical expenses of about $50,000.
Mr. Goldberg called a local orthopedic surgeon as the defense liability expert, who said there was no such maneuver as described by plaintiff that was taught anywhere in the country and that the technique employed by the defendant doctor could not have put any pressure on the shoulder. Mr. Goldberg also had the plaintiff examined by an medical doctor, who testified the shoulder could not have been injured in the way plaintiff alleged and that plaintiff had sufficiently recovered from his surgery such that he was capable of returning to work.