Woman Awarded $109 Million After Losing Hands, Feet In Botched Surgery
I know people say they would do a lot of things for money like this, but would you be willing to give up your arms and feet?
A woman didn't have a say in the matter after a surgery to remove an ovarian cyst went wrong.
A woman who lost both her hands and feet in a botched surgery six years ago has received a major payout from a Florida jury.According to the Tampa Bay Times, Lisa-Maria Carter is set to receive $109 million in damages from an ovarian cyst surgery that claimed her hands and feet and left her with a number of other complications.
The surgery was performed at Tampa General Hospital through the University of South Florida's (USF) college of medicine.
Carter underwent the procedure in 2010, after landing a new job that would require her to travel to Iraq.
At the time, she was aware of the cyst on her ovary, according to the Tampa Bay Times, but felt no pain from it.
Medical personnel ordered her to stay behind until she could be cleared by a physician.
She returned home and was told by her gynecologist that outpatient surgery would be the best path forward.
The surgeon reportedly came close to severing Carter's small intestine during the operation, which has left her with regular abdominal pain, according to a medical malpractice lawsuit obtained by the publication.
Flesh-eating bacteria destroyed Carter's lower bowel.
As a result, she suffered from gangrene in her hands and feet that required four amputations below her knees and elbows.
In addition to physical complications, the 52-year-old's quality of life has reportedly suffered.
"Now she sees the doors starting to open where she could go to her own home, buy a home, bring in people to take care of her so she's not sitting in a nursing home," her lawyer, Ken Dandar, explained to Fox 13.
USF will likely appeal the verdict. This could take up to a year to be fully resolved.
Dandar told Fox 13 that if USF loses the appeal he intends to take his client's case to lawmakers in Tallahassee to seek the full amount awarded to her by the jury. -(Caitlyn Hitt, NY Daily News)
Credit: FOX 13