$2M awarded to man who had surgery on wrong side of brain

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The family of an Arkansas man left in an impaired state after an operation on the wrong side of his brain has been awarded $2 million by the state's claims commission.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the commission announced Tuesday that University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences staff were negligent in the 2004 surgery of Cody Metheny. Then-15-year-old Metheny underwent the operation at Arkansas Children's Hospital to reduce the number of seizures he was experiencing.

The commission said staff members "fraudulently concealed the facts of the surgery" from Metheny's family, which was unaware of damage done to their son until an unrelated examination.

UAMS spokesman Leslie Taylor said staff members disagree with the decision, saying UAMS and the children's hospital are two separate legal entities.