Overview:
A Cole County jury awarded David Smith $1.02 million for his claims against Dr. Patrick Sporleder and his Jefferson City, Missouri practice. Mr. Smith alleged that Dr. Sporleder failed to inform him of abnormal kidney function results, failed to follow up on these results and failed to refer Mr. Smith to a specialist. As a result of these failures, Mr. Smith’s undiagnosed kidney disease was allowed to progress and worsen to the point of no return.
Results:
When the condition was diagnosed ten months later, Mr. Smith was in end stage renal disease and required daily dialysis and has suffered a failed kidney transplant. Defendants argued that they did inform Mr. Smith of the abnormal kidney function results and that Mr. Smith simply failed to follow up as instructed. The jury deliberated for over eight hours and came back with a verdict in favor of Mr. Smith for $1.02 million. The jury also found Mr. Smith comparatively negligent and assessed him 55% fault for a net verdict of $459,000. It is believed that this verdict is the largest in a plaintiff’s medical negligence case in Cole County history. Mr. Smith’s attorneys are Amy Collignon Gunn and Anne Brockland.
Attorneys:
Amy Collignon Gunn
