Medical Animation Depicts How Stroke Caused “Locked-In” Syndrome, $75M Verdict Awarded

Laura Shamp, of Shamp Silk LLC, needed a medical animation after her client suffered a stroke, resulting in a severe brain injury. Shamp sought damages from the healthcare professionals who treated her client. She argued if the man had received appropriate medical attention the stroke would not have been as severe. Conversely, the defense disputed liability and damages for the plaintiff’s brain injury. They stated the chiropractor was to blame for the stroke and there was nothing the ER medical team could do to ease the stroke’s severity.

Since this case was a jury trial, Shamp needed a visual to explain how an untreated dissection resulted in a brain injury. To solve her problem, our team created a medical animation that walked the jury through how an injury to an artery in the neck resulted in a clot in the basilar artery. The visual also explained how that clot ultimately led to her client’s “locked-in” condition.

The animation allowed Shamp to educate the jury on how a blood clot formed when the artery was dissected. Viewers are able to learn how the clot broke off and traveled to the brain, causing a stroke. Additionally, she and the animation emphasized how the lack of medical intervention resulted in “locked-in” syndrome.

With the help of our demonstrative exhibits, Shamp showed the jurors and judge that her client’s paralysis was preventable if the medical professionals had taken the appropriate steps to communicate his condition to specialists. The result was a $75M verdict, $29 million in medical expenses and $46 million in non-economic damages.