|
|
CREDIT FOR SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
AND FAVORABLE SETTLEMENT GIVEN
TO FONAR STAND-UP MRI
MELVILLE, NEW YORK, March 20, 2002 - FONAR Corporation
(NASDAQ-FONR),
The MRI Specialist(TM), reports thatthe success of an accident
victim's surgery and
subsequent lawsuit rested entirely upon the results of his examination
on the Stand-Up MRI(TM).
The lawyer, Wesley Laird, of Laird, Baker & Blackstock, LLC, Attorneys
at Law,
Opp, Alabama, said, "I give all the credit for a successful
settlement to the Stand-Up MRI(TM)because it found pathology that couldn't
be found by other MRI scanners."
Alabama resident Heath Kilcrease,
a pain-stricken victim of a motor
vehicle accident in 1998, had undergone exams on conventional "lie-down"
MRI scanners as well as other diagnostic modalities, but none of them
indicated
that surgery was called for. But images from FONAR's
Stand-Up MRI(TM) convinced Alabama
surgeon John Hackman, M.D.,
otherwise. Mr. Kilcrease successfully underwent surgery in September,
2000.
Later, Alabama trial lawyer Wesley Laird relied heavily on the same
Stand-Up
MRI(TM)images to reach a favorable out-of court settlement for Mr. Kilcrease.
Mr. Laird said, "It is an
honor to be the first Attorney in history to be able to use
FONAR's Stand-Up MRI(TM) in a personal injury case. What an opportunity
this
creates for trial lawyers to be able to help their clients."
Following his accident in October,
1998, 23-year-old Heath Kilcrease
suffered from severe unremitting low back pain. He required Class II
narcotic pain medication to cope with his back and leg pain.
After undergoing several exams
on conventional, or recumbent, MRI scanners,
including high-field units, specialists at two renowned academic centers
(Emory
and University of Alabama at Birmingham) agreed that the images showed
only
mild disc bulges, which provided no indication the patient could obtain
relief from surgery.
Joe Johnson, D.C. of Paxton,
Florida, a FONAR investor who was treating
Mr. Kilcrease, had seen FONAR's description of its new Stand-Up MRI(TM)
and the prospect of achieving weight-bearing MRI images. He obtained
permission
to have Mr. Kilcrease scanned at FONAR headquarters in Melville,
New York, in July, 2000,
where he was scanned standing up.
With the Stand-Up MRI(TM) images
that indicated a disc herniation,
Mr. Kilcrease went to John Hackman, M.D., a neurosurgeon in Montgomery,
Alabama.
"Because the weight-bearing scans from the Stand-Up MRI(TM)indicated
pathology
that was not previously visible, the medical plan for this
patient changed dramatically," said Dr. Hackman. "It is highly
significant that the weight-bearing MRI images showed the L4-5 disc
protruding into the neural foramen, compressing the nerve against the
bony walls of the canal. These findings
directly correlated with the patient's complaints and documented his
source of
continuing pain."
Using the images from the Stand-Up
MRI(TM) to guide him, Dr. Hackman set
out to confirm the results. "I ordered a myelogram and post myelogram
CT just
prior to surgery to see if we could verify the pathology the FONAR scanner
had
seen," said Dr. Hackman, "but what the
Stand-Up MRI(TM) had visualized
was not visible on either of them." Based
solely on the Stand-Up MRI(TM) scans, Dr. Hackman successfully operated
on Mr. Kilcrease in September, 2000. "The success of surgery was
in large part due to the new powers of low back visualization that
imaging of the fully weight-loaded spine enables," said Dr. Hackman.
"Stand-Up
MRI(TM) images were remarkably faithful to the actual pathology."
Mr. Kilcrease's lawyer, Wesley
Laird, said, "It's very difficult to settle out of court
without firm evidence of damages and objective documentation. If a client
has a
physical problem that can't be properly documented, the defendant's
lawyer and
insurance company are naturally skeptical. The client is often labeled
a malingerer.
In Heath's case, the Stand-Up MRI(TM)made all the difference. Without
it, the only
choice would have been to go to trial and take our chances
convincing a jury that Heath's back problems were worse than
indicated by conventional, objective testing."
Mr. Laird continued, "In
a case like Heath's, the Stand-Up MRI(TM) can make the
difference between a four or five figure settlement and a six figure
settlement verdict.
I plan on using the Stand-Up MRI(TM) whenever possible. If
I get a client with undiagnosed
symptoms, I'll be sending him to the closest Stand-Up MRI(TM),
even if it means extensive traveling."
Mr. Kilcrease is especially grateful to FONAR's Stand-Up MRI(TM), and
to Dr. Hackman,
Dr. Johnson and Mr. Laird for his successful outcome. "Before the
surgery, I couldn't work
and was constantly on pain pills," said Mr. Kilcrease.
"Now I no longer take any pain medication and I have returned to
work. I've returned to the life I had known, and I'm very grateful."
Be sure to visit FONAR's Web
site for Company product and investor information: www.fonar.com
This release may include forward-looking
statements from the company that may or may not materialize.
Additional information on factors
that could potentially affect
the company's financial results may be found in the
company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
###
|
