$2.5M Med Mal Award Partly Restored

After experiencing pain and nausea due to the procedure, she was later diagnosed with an intestinal perforation in the duodenum and a surgery performed on her to prevent the contents of the intestine from spilling through the opening into the rest of the body and causing sepsis, a potentially deadly infection.
In March 2017, the Queens County jury awarded Elza Garzon a total of $2.5 million in damages. However, Queens County Judge Joseph J. Esposito’s in a post-trial decision had reduced a $1 million award for future pain and suffering to $100,000.
The New York appeals court panel said that although Judge Esposito did not err by reducing a $1.5 million award for past pain and suffering to $550,000, the judge’s decision to drastically cut the future pain and suffering award did not result in reasonable compensation given the nature and extent of Garzon’s injuries.
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Kayur V. Patel, MD, MRO, FACP, FACPE, FACHE, FACEP
KayurVPatel@ExpertWitness.MD