$62 Million Award in Medical Malpractice Case

A New York woman has been awarded $62 million by a jury in a medical malpractice case initiated by her 2009 lawsuit against a hospital and her treating physicians.

Five years ago, the woman, a single mother, underwent surgery due to an ectopic pregnancy – a pregnancy in which a fertilized egg stays in a woman’s fallopian tube. After the surgery, the woman complained of severe pain, an abnormal heart rate, and a fever.

Despite her complaints and vocalized concerns, she was released from the hospital. Three days later, she returned to the hospital; not only was she admitted this time; she also spent the next 73 daysin intensive care. While in intensive care, the woman went into cardiac arrest three times and she had to undergo a colostomy and skin grafts. To control the infection, the woman was given antibiotics, which ended up causing her significant hearing loss. As if she hadn’t suffered enough, doctor’s had to amputate each of her legs below the knee.

Understandably, the woman sued the hospital and her treating physicians for medical malpractice. The lawsuit claimed that the defendants failed to meet the acceptable standard of medical care to which they are held. Specifically, the suit claimed that during her surgery, her intestine was punctured, causing all sorts of terrible complications including infection, blood poisoning and gangrene. Because of the mishap during surgery, and the resulting damage to her body, she incurred undeniable life-changing injuries.

Despite the defendants’ many arguments, and excuses, the jury issued an award in favor of the plaintiff — $20 million for past pain and suffering, $38 million for future pain and suffering, and $4 million for medical expenses.

Our personal injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg know that this significant award further reaffirms the principle that negligence comes at a price; when people, companies or institutions act in a reckless and/or negligent manner, and individuals sustain injury as a result, those injured individuals have the court system at their disposal in terms of using the law to seek compensation.

You should never be afraid to attempt to recover damages if you’ve been injured because of the wrongdoing and/or negligence of another. The plaintiff in the case described above suffered horrific injuries because her doctors a) messed-up a surgery in a serious way and b) let her leave the hospital when she clearly needed medical attention for the complications following her surgery. She even complained about the serious pain she was experiencing and brought it to the doctors’ attention; still, because of their improper decisions and actions, this woman lost her leg, suffered cardiac arrests, a great deal of her hearing and, needless to say, any sense of normalcy.

If you have incurred an injury due to the negligent actions of another, please contact us at the Law Offices of Aronberg & Aronberg to schedule a free consultation at no cost or obligation. You can reach us by calling 561-266-9191 or by e-mailing us at daronberg@build.simple.biz. We look forward to helping you.

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