The Santa Fe New Mexican and K Fox 12 News have reported that a badly injured man has received a $2 million award due to a 2008 back surgery that left him with tragic results that affected his health, his marriage and his livelihood.
M.M. had a procedure called a bilateral laminectomy – the removal of a herniated disk – in Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in May of 2008. The physician that performed the surgery was Dr. H.H.
During the procedure Dr. H.H. allegedly cut into M.M.'s iliac artery and vena cava. The doctor failed to realize his mistake, and instead he sent him to a recovery room following surgery.
After 36 hours passed M.M. had gone into cardiac arrest and doctors had to open him back up. That is when physicians discovered the error that had occurred. The damage to M.M. included permanent nerve damage – to the nerves that control his bladder and bowels. According to M.M.'s attorneys, he also sustained brain damage.
M.M. suffered through a total of three more surgeries following his cardiac arrest in an attempt to solve the problem.
S.R., M.M.'s wife at the time, will collect a $50,000 award as she claimed that the ordeal, and the changes it brought to her husband's personality, caused their marriage great stress and eventually led to the couple's divorce.
Punitive damages, based on the hospital staff's failure to realize something had gone wrong during the first surgery, were denied.
M.M.'s attorney, Brian Egolf, said that the award was "significant" enough to compensate his client and "try to get (M.M.) put back together…" Egolf believes that the jury's award shows that they recognized the damages that M.M. suffered and continues to suffer with.
M.M. formerly worked as an artist representative with several local art galleries. His disability allegedly prevents him from further employment.
M.M.'s brother, J.M., said that the jury's award was not near enough to compensate his brother for all that he has been put through so far, or will be forced to deal with in the future. J.M. said that he was "disappointed that the jury did not award punitive damages" and that the $2 million due would just be a "drop in the bucket."
J.M. claims that M.M. has lost his good health and his marriage. According to J.M., the Christus Health Systems organization, a nonprofit medical center, should have paid his brother much more.
Testimony took five days and was followed by a three-hour deliberation before the jury handed down its verdict on September 7. The jury was told, by district Judge Sarah Singleton, that at least 10 of its 12 members must agree before announcing a valid verdict.
Attorneys that represented Christus Health Systems were unavailable for comment.
A case of medical malpractice has wide-spreading ramifications from the loss of consortium with a loved one, to present and future wages. Contact a medical malpractice attorney to best serve your needs if a member of the medical community has injured you.