This medical malpractice case involved a patient who was left paralyzed from the waist down following a surgery to repair a herniated disc.  The patient was not an ideal candidate due to previous surgeries and spinal disease.  The surgeon proceeded with the herniated disc removal surgery, but failed to note that the end of the spinal cord (the conus medullaris) was unusually low below L1 vertebral body. This made the surgery additionally risky.  During the surgery, the surgeon did used a right sided approach where the facet joint was in the way instead of a safer left sided approach. This resulted in permanent damage to the spinal cord and paraplegia.