In a significant legal victory, a jury has awarded a woman $70 million in damages, marking one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts ever seen in Georgia.
On April 23, Jessica Powell received this substantial award following a protracted legal fight over medical malpractice.
Jessica’s health issues began in 2013 when she experienced a collapse at home due to a hormone deficiency disease compounded by a stomach virus.
The Georgia pre-school teacher, now working as a private tutor, was subsequently taken to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany for urgent medical attention.
During her hospital stay, Jessica developed sepsis and faced low blood pressure. To manage her condition, she was administered Vasopressin. However, she alleges that her doctors administered a dose two and a half times the standard maximum for over 40 hours while she was just 28 years old.
This dosing error severely restricted blood flow to her lower legs and feet, ultimately resulting in the need for amputations above the knee, as reported by Union-Bulletin.
After more than a decade of efforts and a trial lasting two and a half weeks, the jury decided to grant Jessica $70 million.
Her attorney stated that the jury took only 32 minutes to deliberate and reach their decision.
Matt Cook expressed his thoughts on Facebook, stating: “Ten years of an insurance company’s denials. 32 minute jury deliberation. $70,000,000.00 verdict. This is why insurance companies are so hated.”
In discussions with the media, he mentioned the jury’s swift decision: “That should tell you everything you need to know about who was right.”
“The verdict came as no surprise because we knew from day one that our client was clearly mistreated by her physicians,” Cook further commented.
“What drove the result was just the repeated denials and unwillingness to accept responsibility in the face of overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing.”
Despite the jury’s decision, the legal representatives for the doctors and companies involved expressed their disagreement with the outcome.
They stated: “The physicians acted appropriately under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and we respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict and any notion that these respected physicians failed to meet the standard of care,” according to Union-Bulletin.
“Unfortunately, the resulting bilateral above-the-knee amputations, while devastating, were an unavoidable consequence of the life-saving treatment provided.”