Philadelphia Personal Injury Attorney Blog - Pomerantz Perlberger & Lewis LLP

On March 10, a Washington State jury awarded $ 40 million to a man whose heart was destroyed during a routine operation. The man went to one of the top cardiac care hospitals in the Pacific Northwest for bypass surgery following a small heart attack. However, doctors at the hospital used a faulty cable to attach the catheter, and, even worse, a faulty line of computer code caused the catheter to overheat, reaching almost 500 degrees Fahrenheit before it melted. In the process, the man’s heart was cooked from the inside, and died. He was kept on a machine that circulated his blood until he could receive a heart transplant. As a result of the transplant, he now must take numerous drugs, which cause cancer and kidney failure.

The manufacturer had agreed to pay “reasonable” damages to the man, but not as much as the $38 million his lawyer requested, so the dispute went to court, where the jury awarded $2 million more than the requested amount. The damages were divided between the catheter manufacturer, who is responsible for 99.99 % for its defective product, and the hospital, responsible for 0.01 % or $4000 for its medical malpractice.

If you or a loved one has suffered grave injury as a result of the careless practices of a doctor or faulty medical equipment, contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, and Lewis, LLP for a free initial consultation.