Dr. Bryan Wellman defended himself against accusations that he used an inappropriate method in spinal surgery in October 2005 and don 't care Laurie DeNeui risks she faced.
The jury heard 10 days of technical testimony on the federal courthouse in downtown Sioux Falls, then took only two hours to reject the claims of DeNeui 'and side with Wellman.
Wellman, 43, was absent when the jury returned at 2:00 pm and could not be reached for comment. "He is ready to return to work," his lawyer, Ed Evans, said late Friday.
DeNeui, 48, a former teacher of Rushmore, Minnesota, sobbed quietly after hearing the verdict. She and her husband, Terry, standing pressed against each other, then sat in the courtroom for half an hour after the verdict.
'It is all about money. I suppose that doctors can do whatever they want,' she said.
"Just disappointed," said her husband. He does not think the trial was fair. "No," he said. "We were under the impression that once you were under oath, that you were not 't supposed to lie." He would not indicate to whom he alluded. "I 'd rather not," he said.
Steven Johnson, a lawyer representing the DeNeuis, said they were trying to recover $ 120,000 in medical costs and $ 1.5 million in actual losses and expected revenues from the loss of his job as a teacher of sixth grade.
The DeNeuis have five children. As the trial included hours of testimony into question the wisdom of Wellman, and the level of concern for a patient, he also set a public hearing in a series of medical questions Laurie DeNeui endured long before he met Wellman.
An appeal is unlikely. "Probably not. I can 't he, with emotion. I can' t put my family through this anymore," she said.
Her medical records dating to 1998 showed depression, panic attacks, mood swings, hyperactivity disorder attention deficit, sleep disorders and multiple medications and surgery.
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