Malpractice Verdict in California: Widow Awarded $8.5 Million

In August 2008, a Modesto, California woman was awarded $8.5 million in a medical malpractice jury verdict. The case involved the medical treatment given to a 49 year-old man who was airlifted to a Modesto hospital after breaking six ribs in a motorcycle accident. The man developed respiratory problems in the hospital and died five days later.

X-rays taken four hours prior to his death showed the man had a gallon of liquid backed up in his stomach. The widow’s attorney argued the doctor treating her husband should have ordered closer monitoring of the man, as he had required resuscitation after going into cardiac arrest, and that the doctor had failed to note and appropriate treat the man, whose abdomen was distended from the fluid in his stomach.

The lawsuit included both the man’s treating physician and the hospital; however, the hospital settled shortly before trial for $175,000.

The jury awarded $6 million in compensatory damages. However, since a 1975 California law caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits at $250,000, the verdict was reduced to $1.6 million. The jury award also included $2.5 million in economic damages, which were based on the dead man’s earning potential.

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