PHYSICIAN FORCED TO PAY $1,000,000.00 FOR BOTCHED SURGERY
William Whittaker v. James Anderson, M.D.
Daviess Circuit Court, Owensboro, Kentucky
Liability Facts: Defendant general surgeon severed plaintiff's spinal accessory nerve in removing lipoma (benign fatty tumor) from the right posterior triangle of plaintiff's neck.
Injuries: Diminished range of motion of plaintiff's right arm, permanent atrophy of his trapezius muscle and permanent pain and numbness of the affected shoulder and limb.
Disabilities: Permanent restrictions of plaintiff's ability to lift more than 30 pounds at any time and no more than 15 pounds on a regular basis. Plaintiff further restricted from any activity requiring pushing and pulling, repetitive gripping, repetitive overhead work, use of pneumatic tools and climbing to unprotected heights.
RESULT: $1,000,000 jury verdict for plaintiff   Plaintiff was a laborer/carpenter in a factory in Owensboro, Ky. After this injury he was disabled to the extent that the only employment he was able to obtain was as a salesman in his brother's gun shop at sharply reduced wages and benefits. The money awarded will enable plaintiff to provide for his family and allow him to recover feelings of self-worth after being unable to adequately provide for his family for the past four years.

PHYSICIANS DELAY ANEURYSM SURGERY FOR SEVEN MONTHS, 67 YEAR OLD FEMALE ARMY VETERAN DIES
v. United States
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky
Liability Facts: A 67 year old female army veteran presented to VA Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky with a complaint of severe headache. A CT scan revealed she had a "giant aneurysm" in her brain. Through a series of foul-ups (not having the proper machine available for a scheduled surgery and a surgeon failing to show up at another scheduled surgery), she went for over seven months waiting for the aneurysm to be repaired. Three days before the last scheduled surgery, the aneurysm burst and she died. At a bench trial in Federal Court in Lexington, a Federal District Court Judge awarded her estate $175,000.
Injuries: Death.
RESULT: $175,000 bench trial verdict for plaintiff