A court decision in Italy ended a long process that began after surgery that forever changed the life of a woman from the city of Lucca, in the Tuscan region. Nine years after the operation, the court recognized the responsibility of the clinic and the doctor involved in the procedure.
Lumbar pain led to the decision to be operated
The woman, owner of a local store, resorted to surgery due to intense pain in the lower back. The chosen surgical intervention was an arthrodesis, a technique that aims to fuse column joints in order to stabilize structure and reduce discomfort.
During the surgery, performed in 2016, a serious mistake would definitely compromise its quality of life. One of the screws placed in the spine was incorrectly inserted, surpassing the allowed bone limits and reaching important nerve structures.
Error detected only weeks after the operation
According to an expert report, quoted by the newspaper La Repubblica, it was a tomography performed weeks after the surgery that revealed the poor placement of the implant. This failure caused irreversible neurological lesions in the patient’s left leg.
With the mobility of the leg completely compromised, the woman was considered 100% disabled by the National Institute of Italian Social Security (INPS), the body responsible for assessing the degree of disability.
Court points to failures of the doctor and the clinic
The judge responsible for the case concluded that responsibility for the patient’s condition was shared between the surgeon and the clinic where the procedure occurred. The decision underlines that there was a “determining neglect” by the health professionals involved.
Compensation of 240 thousand euros will be paid to the victim
It was determined that the woman must be compensated in the amount of about 240 thousand euros. This compensation will be paid by the medical and clinical unit insurers where surgery took place.
Previous pension value was considered
It should be noted that the patient had previously received a disability pension in the amount of 220,000 euros, a value attributed by INPS and which was considered in the calculation of the additional compensation now established.
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Recognition of error brings emotional relief
According to the same source, for women, this sentence represents more than financial compensation: it is the formal recognition of medical error that has left it in a situation of permanent dependence since 2016.
According to Corriere Fiorentino, the court considered that the clinical process contained serious assessment and execution failures, with devastating consequences for the victim.
The judicial decision now known have immediate effects, which means that compensation can be processed without new resources by the entities involved.
Arthrodesis requires absolute surgical accuracy
Arthrodesis is a common technique in cases of problems in the spine, but requires absolute accuracy from medical teams to avoid serious complications.
Victim has lived with severe limitations since 2016
In previous statements, and according to, the woman admitted that she has been trying to reconstruct her life, adapting to the new reality of reduced mobility and the limitations imposed by total deficiency.
Cases like this reinforce medical surveillance
This case joins other similar processes in Italy, where courts have been reinforcing the principle of medical responsibility in situations of proven error.
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