SEATTLE, Wash. — A Puyallup man, who said he is now paralyzed after a “low-risk surgery” has filed a claim against the University of Washington’s Harborview Medical Center and several doctors and healthcare providers.
A spokesperson for the law firm, representing Dr. Ron Ko, a dentist in Puyallup, said the claim alleges that Ko was never made aware of a risk of paralysis.
“The surgeon told him, ‘You were going to be fine.’ The surgeon did not tell him there was a risk that he was going to be paralyzed. And he shouldn’t have been paralyzed. He was paralyzed because of medical negligence,” said Nicholas Rowley, family’s attorney.
“It’s in the report. The risk of paralysis was not discussed,” he added.
The lawyer said the father never consented to allow residents to operate on him during his procedure to remove a spinal cord neoplasm, a benign tumor, on March 21.
The claim also alleges that Ko was misinformed that his surgery would be performed exclusively by two fellowship-trained surgeons, with residents only observing from behind a glass.
However, he said two residents-in-training worked on his surgery.
“Dr. Ko learned after the surgery that neural monitoring signals were lost approximately 70% of the way through the procedure, yet the surgeons continued the operation,” the family’s attorney said.
Ko is now paralyzed from the chest down.
The father of two children said he is still waiting to tell his children about his condition.
“My kids don’t even know I’m paralyzed and I told them, “Daddy is going to get better, give it 6 months,” he said.
Ko has lost his ability to work and support his family due to the permanent paralysis caused by the surgery, the family’s law firm wrote.
“No one deserves this, that’s why I’m doing this because we need to increase awareness and this should have never happened,” the father said. “I should be at home with my family. I should be with my team helping patients. I should not be here. I never made it home.”
KIRO 7 News reached out to the UW’s medical center. A spokesperson said the hospital can’t comment on a pending claim.
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