$2 Million: Failure to refer to specialist in timely manner resulted in death
$2 Million Settlement
New Hampshire
A Providence jury awarded the widow of a 66-year-old Rhode Island man $2 million plus interest, the largest personal injury award in the state for the year. The man had been admitted to the hospital with knee pain. Despite the defendant doctor’s stated intention to transfer the patient to a more appropriate specialist, he failed to do so, and instead, continued to note his patient’s deteriorating condition. Within a week of admission, the man developed kidney failure and systemic infection, lapsed into a coma, and died three days later. He and his wife had been married for 42 years.
