Court Awards Additional $27 Million For Post-Accident Malpractice Injury

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Plaintiff parents moved the court to set aside the verdict, and defendants, hospital and university, moved likewise in addition to moving for remittitur, new trial, and judgment notwithstanding the verdict after plaintiffs were awarded $ 27 million, subject to apportionment with the defendant in their other negligence suit in another state, for their son's injuries from failed surgery following a car crash.

Both a male teen and female passenger were injured in New York car crash. Teen was transferred to defendant Connecticut hospital which decided that he needed aorta repair to prevent future potential tear. Massive blood loss during surgery irreversibly damaged teen's brain. In New York, plaintiffs, teen's parents, sued the drivers and, together with the female passenger, settled for $ 1.5 million. A judge acting as arbitrator determined plaintiffs deserved $ 8 million and the female passenger $ 700,000. In Connecticut, plaintiffs had sued defendant hospital and were awarded $ 27 million subject to apportionment with a New York defendant under Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-572h(c) (1987). The court let that verdict stand, over both parties' motions. Because there was not necessarily identical of issues between the Connecticut case and the arbitrator's decision, in that it was unclear whether he had considered medical malpractice damages, plaintiffs were not collaterally estopped from their $ 27 million award. As plaintiffs' son would never achieve independence, the award was not outrageously high. Differences in plaintiffs' experts' testimony did not mandate that the verdict be set aside. All post trial motions were entirely denied.

At Maya Murphy, P.C., our personal injury attorneys are dedicated to achieving the best results for individuals and their family members and loved ones whose daily lives have been disrupted by injury, whether caused by a motor vehicle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a defective product, or otherwise. Our attorneys are not afraid to aggressively pursue and litigate cases and have extensive experience litigating personal injury matters in both state and federal courts, and always with regard to the unique circumstances of our client and the injury he or she has sustained.

Source: Jacobs v. Yale Univ., 2000 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2562, 2000 WL 1530030 (Conn. Super. Ct. Sept. 21, 2000)