Liposuction Malpractice Lawsuit Verdict of $20M Upheld on Appeal

A $20 million verdict in a wrongful death lawsuit filed over medical malpractice during liposuction surgery has been upheld by a Pennsylvania appeals court. 

A Pennsylvania Superior Court panel of judges ruled last month that the decision by a Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas was sound, despite challenges on a number of issues by King of Prussia, Pennsylvania plastic surgeon Richard P. Glunk.

Glunk and a nurse, Edward J. DeStefano, were hit with a $20 million jury award in a liposuction medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the family of Amy Fledderman, an 18-year-old college student who died as a result of complications from an operation he performed in 2001. The verdict included an award of $15 million in punitive damages.

The appeals court affirmed a $2 million emotional distress award for Fledderman’s mother, who had to stand by for more than two hours while Glunk allegedly refused to send her daughter to the hospital. The appeals court also determined that it was permissible to use of evidence that showed Glunk’s clinic was not properly licensed at the time. It also rejected the defendants’ argument that the $15 million punitive damages were excessive.