Lama v. Borras

Roberto Romero Lama (plaintiff), suffering severe back pain, was referred to Dr. Pedro Borras (defendant) at a Puerto Rico hospital (defendant), who diagnosed a herniated disc and scheduled surgery without first prescribing bed rest or any other conservative treatment. After Romero's symptoms returned days after the first operation, Borras performed a second surgery without ordering pre- or post-operative antibiotics; afterward, nurses repeatedly noted heavily bloodied and 'soiled' bandages and localized incision pain - classic infection warning signs - though the hospital's charting system left minimal records. Romero eventually developed discitis, a painful disc-space infection, was diagnosed and treated with antibiotics only after extended suffering, and spent additional months recovering before moving to Florida and suing Borras and the hospital in diversity for negligence. The district court found Borras negligent for failing to provide conservative treatment, discharging Romero improperly, performing the surgery negligently, and mismanaging the infection, and found the hospital negligent for improper charting and mishandling of bandages; the jury awarded Romero $600,000, and both defendants appealed.