Citing a lack of personal jurisdiction in Connecticut, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that a prominent attorney filed following back surgery he claimed was botched in China.

In his April 30 ruling, U.S. District Judge Michael Shea dismissed attorney James Shaughnessy's lawsuit against Dr. Edward Southern, because the doctor has had no involvement with Connecticut for years. The judge said Southern, who now lives in Minnesota, has not had much to do with Connecticut since he was a resident at Yale University School of Medicine and a clinical instructor there in the mid-1990s. For that reason federal court in Connecticut was not the appropriate place to bring the lawsuit, Shea ruled.

Shaughnessy lives in China but maintains a home in Sherman, Connecticut.

The judge said Southern had visited the state on a few occasions in recent years, but primarily for alumni meetings and medical conferences.

“It is clear that Shaughnessy's claims for medical malpractice and lack of informed consent do not arise out of any of these Connecticut contacts,” Shea wrote.

Speaking from China, where he is general counsel for Danbury-based Praxair Inc.'s Asia Pacific region, Shaughnessy said there is a better than 50-50 chance he will file a lawsuit against the doctor in his home state of Minnesota. Praxair is an American worldwide industrial gases company.

“We will be looking at whether filing a lawsuit in Minnesota is a viable option,” Shaughnessy told the Connecticut Law Tribune.

At issue were claims against the doctor for lack of informed consent and alleged medical malpractice arising from back surgery and post-operative treatment.

Southern, according to the lawsuit, performed back surgery on the attorney in China in March 2016. Southern, according to the lawsuit, worked for Parkway Health in Shanghai, a medical facility that bills itself as a Western-style medical facility and charges U.S. prices.

The lawsuit seeks $20 million in punitive damages; $10 million in damages for pain and suffering; and $1.5 million for out-of-pocket medical and travel expenses.

Southern, the lawsuit states, told Shaughnessy the remedial surgery to remove a small portion of the lamina and ligaments was simple and had a 1% complication rate, meaning that in only 1% of cases would a dural tear occur and, that if it did, it could be easily replaced during surgery. Things though, according to the lawsuit, went terribly wrong.

Southern, according to the lawsuit, told Shaughnessy the surgery resulted in a 1 centimeter dural tear, which was repaired with a porcine patch. Soon after the surgery, his lawsuit says, Shaughnessy, who acted as his own attorney, began to experience numbness on his right side. Southern, the lawsuit says, told Shaughnessy he would not order an MRI and that he was developing a headache.

As time progressed, the lawsuit says, Shaughnessy's symptoms became worse and included difficulty walking, urinating, and with bowel movements. He also developed a limp and couldn't feel anything on the right side of his body, the suit says.

Two months after surgery, the lawsuit says, Southern finally ordered an MRI and diagnosed the attorney with arachnoditis, a pain disorder associated with the nerves of the spinal cord.

Eventually, the lawsuit said, Shaughnessy saw Dr. Neal Annand at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The lawsuit says Annand believed an MRI should have been given immediately when the attorney felt numbness and that there should have been another surgery to correct the first surgery within a few weeks. Annand, the lawsuit says, also said Southern's report of a simple dural tear was inconsistent with what they believed happened and that the tear had to be larger than 1 centimeter. Annand and another surgeon soon performed a revision surgery on Shaughnessy, which helped with his walking, but, according to the lawsuit, he continues to have loss of bowel functions, urination issues and no feeling on the right half of his body from his waist to his knee.

The Connecticut Law Tribune called Southern's home in Minnesota Friday morning and his wife said she'd relay the message to him. Southern has yet to respond. In addition, Southern's attorney, Robert Laney of Ryan Ryan Deluca, did not respond to a request for comment Friday,

“It's been a nightmare,” the 53-year-old Shaughnessy said. “He turned me into an old man overnight.”