In a case pending appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, the Georgia Court of Appeals denied a lawsuit dismissal motion from a doctor who said he had immunity from any medical malpractice claims stemming from a patient’s unsuccessful spinal surgery because it happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The patient’s procedure to install a spinal cord stimulator for chronic pain took place on May 14, 2020. at Emory Johns Creek Hospital in Johns Creek, at a time when Gov. Brian Kemp had issued executive orders to provide liability protection for frontline health care workers battling COVID-19. But because the surgery for Frances Ervin was elective and could be delayed until after pandemic lockdowns and related orders had ended, the court ruled in October that the surgeon, Dr. Jason Velez and Resurgens, the company that hired him, could be held liable for any malpractice claims.