Hall jury decides for doctor

GAINESVILLE - A Hall County State Court Jury Tuesday afternoon took two hours after a week long civil trial to decide in favor of a Gainesville nerosurgeon accused of malpractice.

According to State Court Judge Gene Robert's office the jury came back at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday and cleared Dr.Karl Schultz of failing to follow proper procedure during spinal surgery on plaintiff Randall Scroggs four years ago in Gainesville.

Scroggs, a former Hall sheriff's deputy, was paralized below the waist and his attorneys were seeking over $3-million dollars in damages.

According to plaintiff's allegations Schultz attempted to insert a ‘spinal cord stimulator’ without using diagnostic procedure or MRI imaging, instead opting to follow a ‘blind procedure’ during the surgery.