Recent Ruling Cuts 5 Million Dollar Medical Malpractice Award to $359,000

By Brittany Golledge

Published on August 22, 2005

A federal jury in Detroit initially awarded the family of Kelly Smith 5 million dollars against Botsford General Hospital in Farmington Hills, Michigan. The lawsuit was filed after Smith died en route to another local hospital after suffering a broken leg in a car crash. Botsford General Hospital had transferred Smith after failing to first stabilize his condition. Hospital officials claimed they did everything they could to save Smith, they simply didn't have the equipment necessary to treat a man of Smith's size ~ 600 pounds.

In May of 2003, a federal jury found in favor of Smith's family, awarding 5 million in damages. On Thursday, a panel of judges on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals cut the damage award to $359,000 in accordance with a Michigan state law capping non economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits.

Smith's family intends to appeal the ruling. Their attorney fears that the cap is so low it might limit the public's ability to conduct proper research to successfully pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit.

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