Man was discharged from Parkview before spinal injury was recognized.

A Pueblo jury recently found in favor of a man who was left paralyzed after receiving medical care at Parkview Medical Center and awarded the man about $2.8 million.

The jury's decision came after a nine-day trial regarding events at Parkview on Feb. 11, 2016, according to a news release issued by the Denver law firm of the attorneys who tried the case, David S. Woodruff and Henry Miniter.

During the trial, which concluded Friday, evidence was presented in Pueblo District Court that the emergency department team at Parkview was negligent in their treatment of Samuel Chifalo, who was 63 at the time, when he arrived there following a fall.

Chifalo suffered an injury to his spinal cord when he fell and struck his face on furniture.

The attorneys said that if he had been treated promptly with neurosurgery, the injury could have been reversed, but Chifalo instead was discharged from the hospital with the injury going unrecognized by staff.

Chifalo now is an "incomplete" quadriplegic who is unable to use his legs and his left arm, and has only limited sensation and movement in his right arm.

The jury found that Chifalo suffered injuries, damages or losses; that Parkview was negligent; and that the negligence was a cause of the injuries or damages claimed by Chifalo, according to court documents obtained by The Pueblo Chieftain.

The jury awarded Chifalo $521,600 in medical and other health care expenses for damages to the present and about $2.3 million in medical and other health care expenses for future damages. The jury also awarded much smaller amounts in other categories, including in non-economic losses.

"This case, like all medical malpractice cases, was incredibly sad because Mr. Chifalo will never fully recover what he lost," Woodruff said in a statement. "But the jury's award will help him recover some dignity and independence in his life completely confined to a wheelchair."

When reached for comment Tuesday, Jeff Tucker, Parkview's public relations specialist, said: "Parkview is reserving comment on this case as we explore our options going forward."

rseverance@chieftain.com

Twitter: @RyanS_Chieftain