WI: $3.7M Med Mal Verdict

Yesterday, a jury in Wisconsin awarded the family of a deceased farm worker $3.7 million in damages for medical malpractice.  Gustavo Espinal-Santos died Jan. 1, 2004, after contracting blastomycosis, a fungal infection often transmitted through water or soil.  He presented at a family practice in December of 2003, where he was examined by physician assistants and diagnosed with pneumonia.  The family alleged a failure to run basic diagnostic tests, specifically x-rays.  After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated eight hours before finding negligence on the part of the practice and the physician supervising the physician assistants.  The award will be reduced pursuant to Wisconsin's damages cap.  The story, courtesy of greenbay pressgazette.com, is here.

--CJR