A Baltimore jury has awarded a man $28 million in damages in a lawsuit accusing doctors of misdiagnosing an intestinal ulcer.
The Glen Burnie man filed a lawsuit last year in Baltimore Circuit Court. He alleged that pain caused by the ulcer was misdiagnosed three years prior.
As a result of the misdiagnosis, a perforated ulcer resulted in being hospitalized for three years, as well as multiple surgeries. Furthermore, it left him with short-bowel syndrome, making it impossible for the man to care for himself or work.
A jury came to the conclusion that two doctors from Woodholme Gastroenterology Associates caused injury and damage to the man by deviating from the standard of care.
It took three weeks of trial for the jury to come to a conclusion. When everything was said and done, the man was awarded $14 million in future life care and medical expenses along with $1 million in past medical bills, $5 million in damages to his marriage and $8 million in noneconomic damages.
The two doctors were negligent in diagnosing the actual condition, as they neglected to consider any other diagnosis that could be causing his problem.
As a result of the negligence, the man now requires nursing care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Furthermore, he has to receive his nutrition from a central line and he is confined to a wheelchair.
When a person suffers from a medical condition, it is imperative that he or she is treated appropriately without delay. If a medical professional neglects to do so, it can cause serious harm to the patient.
Source: The Baltimore Sun, “Baltimore jury awards $28M in damages over alleged misdiagnosed ulcer,” Lorraine Mirabella, Sep. 04, 2015