One of the most shocking cases from the archives of medical negligence was the case of Mr. Willie King. He was admitted to University Community Hospital in Tampa, Florida to have his leg amputated. During the procedure, the wrong leg was amputated…. caringlawyers.com, nytimes.com, 13 Disturbing Cases of Medical Malpractice, Hospital Settles Case of Amputation Error
By the time the surgeons realized their mistake, it was too late to reverse the damage caused, and the leg had to be removed.
The attending surgeon was fined $10,000, and his medical license was revoked for six months. The hospital paid Mr. King $900,000, and the surgeon personally paid him another $250,000. The hospital admitted that a chain of errors culminated in the wrong leg being prepped for the surgery.
The mistake-plagued hospital, after a federal investigation, received a temporary ban on conducting elective surgeries.