Menu

10 Million Awarded to Amputee Medical Malpractice Victim

A Texas jury has ruled in favor of John German in his medical malpractice lawsuit, awarding him $10 million for his injuries, future medical care and pain and suffering.

Mr. German was admitted to Methodist Hospital to undergo heart surgery, during which he was given a dose of the drug Heparin.  He had an allergic reaction to the blood thinner and suffered what’s referred to as “Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia”, or HIP.

HIP is a common complication in which the blood clots rather than thins, ultimately cutting off the blood flow to the patients extremities.  The result was devastating.  Doctors were forced to amputate his left leg below the mid-thigh, a portion of his right foot and several of his fingers.

German’s medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital and doctors who treated him during his heart surgery claimed that he wasn’t properly monitored after he received the Heparin, and for the days following the surgery.  By the time the HIT was discovered, it was too late.

The award is likely the last one of its size for medical malpractice in Texas because the Torte Reform Law passed in September 2003 caps non-economic damages to $250,000.  German filed his lawsuit just prior to the law taking effect, allowing his award to exceed the damages cap.

Leave a Comment