New York Woman Gets $18 Million after Medical Error

It’s difficult to put a price tag on a body part but for the victim of medical malpractice in New York City, the price was $17.9 million.

The victim sued both New York City as well as Brooklyn Hospital Center after a botched medical procedure left her without any limbs and made her blind in one eye.

Three years after the claim arose, the defendants decided to settle, fearing the medical malpractice victim would get too much sympathy from a jury at trial.

In 2008, the victim made a trip to Brooklyn Hospital’s emergency room. According to the New York Daily News, she was told she had kidney stones and received painkillers as a result. However, the medical error victim was still in extreme pain the following day and proceeded to call 911 two times. Each cry for help went unheard, as medics declined to bring her to the hospital.

The victim here made it to the hospital, ended up in a coma and awoke missing hands, feet and sight in one eye. Part of the victim’s $17.9 million settlement will cover pain and suffering as well as future medical expenses.

It’s definitely difficult to put a price on one’s body part. When a person is the victim of medical malpractice, experienced legal counsel can help get the best compensation for the injury.

Strangely, body part values are treated like lost wages. The calculation is usually determined by looking at the age of the victim before and after the bodily injury.

Personal injury attorneys in New York may look to the workers’ compensation fee schedule to get an idea as to a value for lost limbs when calculating potential settlements. In this system, each part of the body is given a rating and it’s also based on the injured employee’s present wages.

Source: Findlaw.com, “NYC amputee wins 18m from city hospital,” Mar. 7, 2012.