From Deseret News archives:
Man wins lawsuit against Salt Lake VA hospital
"This man is a veteran and a proud Montanan, and he was determined to have his day in court," said David Paoli, attorney for James L. Lamb, 69, of Missoula.
"As a citizen, it is important to him that justice was served, and that's an important thing for regular people to see in their justice system," Paoli said.
Lamb accused doctors of botching a hernia operation by mistakenly severing an artery in his stomach. He nearly died of severe bleeding and spent four months at VA hospitals in Salt Lake City and Helena.
District Judge Donald Molloy in Missoula awarded $1.2 million in damages April 4. But under Utah law, which governed the case, damages for pain, suffering, and inconvenience cannot exceed $430,000.
Molloy also awarded $192,739 for loss of household production and medical bills.
In December 2004, Lamb went to the VA in Salt Lake City for an abdominal operation that was supposed to keep him there overnight. Instead, he was there for more than six weeks because of complications. He had five more surgeries at the hospital.
He was hospitalized again in November 2007 for a small-bowel obstruction. Two months later, doctors at a VA hospital in eastern Colorado told him that surgery was too risky to solve the problem.
The judge said Lamb has several permanent injuries and now must wear an abdominal binder to contain his organs.
Lamb brought the claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act and was awarded the money following a one-day bench trial.
Recent comments
The problem with caps on damages are that they penalize the most...
Tumbleweed | April 12, 2008 at 5:10 p.m.
Amen to Utah Damages.
Timj | April 12, 2008 at 3:23 p.m.
Anybody notice that damages were capped in Utah? The victim got 1/3...
Utah Damages | April 12, 2008 at 2:15 p.m.
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