The plaintiff claimed that a trigger point injection given for lumbar back pain was injected into the area of the left superior gluteal nerve causing mononeuropathy. The plaintiff’s expert testified that this lead to denervation of the left gluteus minimus and cause a constant permanent burning pain in the plaintiff’s left buttock making it impossible for the plaintiff to sit for more than 10 minutes and hindered her ability to sleep.
The defense’s case was premised upon the plaintiff’s theory being medically impossible. Mr. Rach also established the injuries to claimed to be permanent had resolved per the patient’s own statements in her physical therapy records. The defendant’s expert witness testified that the injection was done properly and that had the injection been done in the area that the plaintiff’s expert suggested that the effects would have been similar to getting a shot of Novocain during a dental procedure and would have worn off in a couple of hours. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants, afterwards they specifically pointed to Mr. Rach’s cross examination of the plaintiff’s expert and the defense’s expert’s polished presentation as the determining factors.