• 20
  • January
    2012

A medical malpractice lawsuit involving a teenager who had all of her limbs amputated has finally come to an end. After a five week trial, and three days of jury deliberation, a jury awarded the teen $12.6 million.

The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed 10 years ago after a medication error resulted in the girl having to have her arms and legs amputated above the joints.

According to the lawsuit, when the now teenager was an infant, she suffered from intestinal problems. Due to this, she had to have a number of organs removed, including her spleen. However, since the spleen acts to protect the body from viruses and bacteria, the girl ran an increased risk of infection.

Because of this, during a pediatric checkup in October 1998, a medical assistant gave the girl a vaccination that was intended to protect the girl against infections. But, just eight months after being administered the vaccine, the girl ended up very sick. At that point, it was discovered that she had a bacterial infection raging through her body that caused blood clots in her legs and arms. This led to gangrene, and her legs and arms were amputated.

However, the lawsuit claimed that the issue stemmed from the fact that the vaccine she was given to prevent infections had actually expired five months before it was administered.

In this case, it is believed that the award will be appealed, and that the girl will not receive the full amount, as an expert claims that her mother did not give her enough medication to stop the infection. This means that the doctor who treated the girl is only partially responsible. However, partial responsibility can often still result in a payout for the person who was injured.

Either way though, in the end it seems that at least the teenager -- who uses prosthetics and is a school cheerleader -- will have some sort of compensation to help with her past and future medical expenses.

Source: Sun Sentinel, "Miramar teen who lost limbs wins $12.6 mil malpractice suit," Robert Nolin, Jan. 13, 2012