Jury Awards New York Woman $1.75 Million in Medical Malpractice Case

Earlier this month, a jury awarded a New York woman $1.75 million in a medical malpractice suit that arose from a surgery the woman had at the defendant hospital. According to a local news report, the woman needed to have a surgery to repair a muscle that was damaged during childbirth a few months before.

However, after having the surgery performed, the woman developed an abscess that required surgical incisions be made in order to drain it. According to the woman, this was incredibly painful and not an expected outcome of the surgery. In fact, the woman had another doctor testify at trial that the standard of care provided by the defendants in her case was woefully inadequate.

As it turns out, after her surgery the woman needed to return to the operating table four more times that year before the abscess was completely healed. In addition, she had to go back for seven post-op visits. She ended up calling the doctor’s office 19 times trying to get them to take her pain seriously.

In the end, the jury heard the woman’s case against the surgeon, a nurse practitioner, a radiologist, and the facility where the operations took place. The jury found that each party was at least partially at fault, except for the radiologist who took the CT scan.

Medical Malpractice, Multiple Defendants, and Final Liability
As you can see from the lawsuit mentioned above, the plaintiff named several parties in the suit that were ultimately found to not be at all responsible for her injuries. This tactic, however, of naming all potentially liable parties from the outset, is the prudent one in Maryland malpractice lawsuits.

If a case goes to trial, and a defendant is able to shift the blame for an accident or event onto a party that was not properly joined to the lawsuit by the plaintiff, the defendant may be able to completely escape liability. Therefore, by adding all potentially liable parties–as the plaintiff did here–a victim of medical malpractice decreases the risk that the judge or jury will determine that a non-present party was at fault for the event.

It bears noting that a plaintiff does not risk anything by naming parties that are ultimately found to be innocent of any wrongdoing. Simply, they will not be held liable to the plaintiff for any of the injuries he or she suffered.

Have You Been the Victim of Medical Malpractice?

If you or a loved one has recently been involved in a malpractice incident, you may be entitled to monetary damages to help compensate you for your injuries or loss. However, physicians most often carry malpractice insurance that will provide them with a skilled legal team to defend them. In order to be on a level playing field, you too should ensure that you are represented by a dedicated medical malpractice attorney. To learn more about medical malpractice actions, and to speak to an attorney about your case, call 410-998-3600 today.