VA Malpractice Lawsuit Results in $749,000 Verdict Over Surgical Mistake

The estate of a World War II veteran was awarded $749,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed over a botched surgery at a Veterans Affairs facility in Jackson, Mississippi.

The VA surgery malpractice lawsuit was filed on behalf of Charles West, who suffered eye damage during a surgery to remove skin from between his eyebrow and eyelid. The complaint also alleged that West and his family were lied to and told that the damage was due to an allergic reaction, as opposed to a medical mistake.

As a result of a solution used by a nurse during surgery prep, West’s corneas were burned, causing severe vision loss and pain, and forcing him to become care dependent.

Did You Know?

Ticketmaster Data Breach Impacts Millions of Customers

A massive Ticketmaster data breach exposed the names, addresses, phone numbers, credit card numbers and other personal information of more than 560 million customers, which have now been released on the dark web. Lawsuits are being pursued to obtain financial compensation.

Learn More

U.S. District Judge Tom Lee awarded $249,000 in economic damages and $500,000 for non-economic damages, which is the maximum amount permitted under the Mississippi statutory cap on non-economic damages. Judge Lee indicated that he was would have been inclined to award more damages if it were permitted.

According to the Hattiesburg American, West died on May 8 at age 91. His death occurred after the conclusion of the trial, but before the verdict was returned on July 20.

1 Comments

  • larryMarch 24, 2013 at 11:15 am

    Had 2 out patient procedures and ended up in intensive care 2 times! The second time was the very worse

Share Your Comments

I authorize the above comments be posted on this page*

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

More Top Stories

Change Healthcare Data Breach Lawyers Meeting Today With MDL Judge For Initial Status Conference
Change Healthcare Data Breach Lawyers Meeting Today With MDL Judge For Initial Status Conference (Posted today)

The judge presiding over all Change Healthcare lawsuits filed in federal court is holding the first status conference of the litigation, which is expected to grow significantly as Change Healthcare data breach letters continue to be sent to impacted customers.

Angiodynamics LifePort Lawsuit Filed Over Risk of the Port Catheters Failing, Causing Severe Injury
Angiodynamics LifePort Lawsuit Filed Over Risk of the Port Catheters Failing, Causing Severe Injury (Posted yesterday)

Complaint comes as a panel of federal judges are scheduled to hear oral arguments later this month, to determine whether all AngioDynamics port catheter lawsuits filed in U.S. District Courts nationwide should be centralized before one judge.