A woman who sued a hospital after complications from a laparoscopic procedure led to the amputation of her legs and partial deafness has been awarded $62 million by a New York City jury.
Stacey Galette was awarded $58 million for pain and suffering and another $4 million in special damages Friday following a 12-week trial in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
Galette sued Winthrop-University Hospital on Long Island and three doctors after the 2009 laparoscopic removal of an ectopic pregnancy. Galette's attorney Sanford Rubenstein argued a punctured colon during the procedure lead to infections and blood poisoning.
A hospital spokesman says Friday doctors diagnosed the complication quickly and treated it as best they could but her condition deteriorated quickly. He says their efforts saved her life but left her disabled.
