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Woman wins $225,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit MABEL PEREZ STAR-BANNER OCALA - A jury has ordered Jamal Fakhoury and Ross Dumbadse of Fakhoury Chiropractic Clinic to pay a former patient $225,000 in a medical malpractice suit, plus attorney fees. The suit accused the doctors of negligence, saying they failed to order neurological exams or get the appropriate medical records before beginning a treatment plan. According to court records, Donna Kern started going to the clinic in November 2000, shortly after a car accident. Doctors at the clinic began treating her but failed to order an MRI until a year later. In 2002, when the MRI was performed, Kern was diagnosed with spinal cord compression. "Winning any malpractice suit is extremely difficult . . . and I think the fact that we won points to the fact the jury felt the doctors were responsible," said Henry Valenzuela, who represented Kern. "If you're a chiropractor you are acting as a gatekeeper. That's a significant role. You're responsible for making the appropriate referrals." Even though Kern won the case, the jury Wednesday still found her 25 percent liable for the injuries she incurred. After she was diagnosed with spinal cord compression by neurosurgeon Antonio DiSclafani in 2002, she waited five months to get back surgery. So, of the $300,000 she was awarded, the doctors are responsible for paying $225,000. And for Fakhoury's and Dumbadse attorney Joseph Brooks, the fact that Kern was awarded significantly less than what was asked for is a victory in itself. Kern's attorneys asked for a minimum of $1 million in lost wages, future lost wages, pain and suffering and other damages, some of which were awarded to her children Kyle Kern and Tyler Kern. "I am very happy that the jury saw that the responsibility of my client was not close to what the plaintiff was attesting," Brooks said. "I'd like to see my doctors vindicated because I don't think they were responsible at all. . . . But I think overall I'm very pleased." During trial, Brooks also argued that Kern's condition was caused by other injuries related to at least three other car accidents and that when she began going to Fakhoury she already was suffering from the injuries. Both attorneys said they still weren't sure whether the decision would be appealed.
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