During a surgical biopsy of the growth on June 5, 2013, Robbins cut a nerve in Alpert's leg, Nagel said. The damage forced her to use a wheelchair and undergo months of physical therapy to regain the ability to walk, Nagel said. She attended both her senior prom and high school graduation ceremony in the wheelchair, he said.Alpert has since had the growth removed by another doctor, but continues to have numbness and pain in her leg that is expected to continue throughout her life, Nagel said. She can no longer play tennis.Nagel called the biopsy an "unnecessary surgery," that he argued could have been combined with the removal as the growth, not done as a separate procedure.A jury awarded the $1.2 million verdict and found that Robbins did not fully inform Alpert's parents of the other treatment options, Nagel said.By Jessica Mazzola [email protected],
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com