Niamh Shackleton
A jury recently awarded a woman a whopping $70 million in damages in what's been described as one of the largest awarded medical malpractice cases in Georgia.
On April 23, Jessica Powell was awarded $70 million after a years-long medical malpractice legal battle.
Jessica first became unwell in 2013 when a hormone deficiency disease coupled with a stomach virus caused her to collapse at home.
The Georgia pre-school teacher, who is now a private tutor, was then rushed to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany to receive the urgent medical care that she needed.
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But during her stay, Jessica contracted sepsis and was suffering from low blood pressure. To treat this, she was reportedly given the drug Vasopressin — but Jessica, then aged 28, claims that her doctors gave a dose two and a half times the usual maximum dose for more than 40 hours.
As a result, blood flow to her lower legs and feet was significantly impacted and her legs went on to be amputated from above the knee, says Union-Bulletin.
Now, after more than 10 years of trying and a two-and-a-half week-long trial, a jury has opted to award Jessica $70 million.
According to her lawyer, it took the jury took just 32 minutes to deliberate and come to a conclusion.
Matt Cook penned on Facebook after the historic win: "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."
Speaking to the press, he added of the jury's quick 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 continued.
"What drove the result was just the repeated denials and unwillingness to accept responsibility in the face of overwhelming evidence of wrongdoing."
Despite the ruling, attorneys for the doctors and companies named said that they 'respectfully disagree' with the jury's decision.
"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," they said, per Union-Bulletin.
"Unfortunately, the resulting bilateral above-the-knee amputations, while devastating, were an unavoidable consequence of the life-saving treatment provided."