The courts calculate damages in medical malpractice lawsuits based on the plaintiff’s past and future medical expenses and past and future lost income, and sometimes noneconomic damages for the non-financial hardships the plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer because of the injury. Therefore, the biggest damages awards in medical malpractice cases tend to be for cases involving birth injuries, where an infant will suffer lifelong health problems because of a doctor’s error and may not ever be able to become financially independent of his or her parents through employment income.
This month, a court in New Mexico issued a ruling for the largest damages award in a personal injury case in the state’s history, but the plaintiff in this case was already old enough to be eligible for Medicare when he filed the lawsuit. If you have suffered serious injuries because of a medical error, no matter your age, contact a Santa Fe medical malpractice lawyer.
NuMale Pays Record-Breaking Settlement to Man Harmed by Erectile Dysfunction Injections
NuMale is a chain of clinics that offers treatment for conditions such as hair loss and erectile dysfunction. In 2017, a 66-year-old man visited the NuMale Medical Center location in Albuquerque, complaining of fatigue and weight loss. These complaints can be a sign of a variety of medical conditions, some of them serious. It stands to reason that the doctors should have sent him to a primary care physician for more tests to determine the cause of his symptoms because it could have been anything from normal aging to cancer. Instead, the staff of the clinic insisted that the plaintiff needed penile injections to cure his erectile dysfunction, implying that if he did this, his other symptoms would disappear, and when he hesitated, the clinic staff would not take no for an answer.
Even before this patient’s case, there were concerns about the safety of the injections. The plaintiff suffered injuries because of the injections, and even though news reports did not elaborate on the nature of the injuries, one can imagine that reading about them would not be for the faint of heart.
When the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against NuMale Medical Center, his lawyers accused the clinic of fraud for persuading patients that these expensive and dangerous injections were medically necessary. In November 2024, the trial court ordered the clinic to pay $412 million in damages, which is the largest medical malpractice damages award a court in New Mexico has ever ordered. A lot of the money was punitive damages because of the egregiousness of the defendant’s negligence; $412 million is more than a senior could ever need for medical expenses in a lifetime. This is the case whenever you see a damages award that seems too high.
Contact Slate Stern About Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured as a result of medical errors. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/29/us/new-mexico-jury-award-botched-penile-injections/index.html
The courts calculate damages in medical malpractice lawsuits based on the plaintiff’s past and future medical expenses and past and future lost income, and sometimes noneconomic damages for the non-financial hardships the plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer because of the injury. Therefore, the biggest damages awards in medical malpractice cases tend to be for cases involving birth injuries, where an infant will suffer lifelong health problems because of a doctor’s error and may not ever be able to become financially independent of his or her parents through employment income.
This month, a court in New Mexico issued a ruling for the largest damages award in a personal injury case in the state’s history, but the plaintiff in this case was already old enough to be eligible for Medicare when he filed the lawsuit. If you have suffered serious injuries because of a medical error, no matter your age, contact a Santa Fe medical malpractice lawyer.
NuMale Pays Record-Breaking Settlement to Man Harmed by Erectile Dysfunction Injections
NuMale is a chain of clinics that offers treatment for conditions such as hair loss and erectile dysfunction. In 2017, a 66-year-old man visited the NuMale Medical Center location in Albuquerque, complaining of fatigue and weight loss. These complaints can be a sign of a variety of medical conditions, some of them serious. It stands to reason that the doctors should have sent him to a primary care physician for more tests to determine the cause of his symptoms because it could have been anything from normal aging to cancer. Instead, the staff of the clinic insisted that the plaintiff needed penile injections to cure his erectile dysfunction, implying that if he did this, his other symptoms would disappear, and when he hesitated, the clinic staff would not take no for an answer.
Even before this patient’s case, there were concerns about the safety of the injections. The plaintiff suffered injuries because of the injections, and even though news reports did not elaborate on the nature of the injuries, one can imagine that reading about them would not be for the faint of heart.
When the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against NuMale Medical Center, his lawyers accused the clinic of fraud for persuading patients that these expensive and dangerous injections were medically necessary. In November 2024, the trial court ordered the clinic to pay $412 million in damages, which is the largest medical malpractice damages award a court in New Mexico has ever ordered. A lot of the money was punitive damages because of the egregiousness of the defendant’s negligence; $412 million is more than a senior could ever need for medical expenses in a lifetime. This is the case whenever you see a damages award that seems too high.
Contact Slate Stern About Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured as a result of medical errors. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/29/us/new-mexico-jury-award-botched-penile-injections/index.html
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash