MRSA Infection Lawsuit Results in $17.5 M Verdict For Man Who Lost Limbs

A Texas jury awarded $17.5 million to a man who lost both arms and legs as a result of his doctor’s negligent treatment of his hospital-acquired MRSA infection. However, under the Texas damages cap, the verdict was reduced to $7.5 million.

David Fitzgerald, 53, a former maintenance man in an apartment complex in North Dallas, developed an infection known as MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, after surgery for ulcers at RHD Memorial Medical Center in Farmers Branch, Texas.

Hospital-acquired MRSA infections are resistant to many types of antibiotics, and can be deadly if it enters the bloodstream. The bacteria is normally found on the skin and nose and those with weakened immune systems or those undergoing surgery could be more vulnerable to the infection.

According to the MRSA infection lawsuit, Fitzgerald was treated in 2003 by the defendant, Dr. Meenakshi S. Prabhakar, an infectious disease specialist, who failed to properly treat the infection with the right type of antibiotic. Dr. Prabhakar treated the plaintiff with eight different antibiotics, but the infection was known to be resistant to all of them, and the doctor failed to prescribe the one that treats MRSA.

As a result of the failure to properly treat the infection, Fitzgerald developed gangrene and required both of his arms to be removed below the elbows and both of his legs to be removed below the knees.

On February 13, 2009, a Dallas County jury found that Dr. Prabhakar’s misdiagnosis and negligent treatment was 100% responsible for Fitzgerald’s injuries and awarded $17.5 million in the Texas medical malpractice lawsuit.

As a result of a statutory cap in Texas which limits the non-economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits to $250,000, the judge reduced the verdict to $7.5 million. The portion of the jury’s award that provided compensation for Fitzgerald’s economic damages, including the cost of his medical treatment and lost wages, was not reduced.