Valhalla, N.Y.-based Westchester Medical Center Health Network has been ordered by a jury to pay $120 million to a patient and his family following delayed stroke care that resulted in brain damage.
In the largest medical malpractice case award ever presented in Westchester County, lawyers argued that physicians at Westchester Medical Center were responsible for a delay in care that resulted in a patient experiencing permanent brain damage. The patient, 41-year-old William Lee, arrived at the hospital by ambulance Nov. 27, 2018, suffering a stroke, a Dec. 4 release from the law firm representing Mr. Lee reported. Following arrival, Mr. Lee waited three hours for a blood clot removal from his basilar artery while the hospital's on-call physicians worked to come up with a diagnosis.
While the hospital argued that Mr. Lee's brain damage had occurred before hospital admission, the jury determined that the failure for a timely diagnosis is what resulted in Mr. Lee's requirement for lifelong confinement to a residential brain injury center.
The verdict includes awards for Mr. Lee's future medical needs, pain and suffering, and loss of life enjoyment, along with funding for his wife's loss of Mr. Lee's services and society, the release reported.
Westchester Medical declined to comment on the verdict at this time