Woman Injured After Abortion Awarded $500,000

By Daniel Hawn

Published on December 28, 2005

A woman who claimed that a botched abortion performed at a clinic in Jackson, Mississippi forced her to undergo a hysterectomy was awarded $500,000 by a Hinds County judge this past week.

Latosha Travis filed the lawsuit against New Woman Medical Center Inc. and Dr. Malachy Dehenre. Circuit Judge Winston Kidd entered the default judgment against the clinic after it did not respond to the suit.

According to court records, in March 2003, Travis, then 20, went to the clinic and was charged $680 for an abortion performed by Dehenre. Travis experienced massive hemorrhaging from the procedure, however, and was forced to undergo hysterectomy to stop the bleeding, her personal injury lawsuit states.

In August 2004 Dehenre had his license suspended by the state of Mississippi after one of his patients in another state died and three allegations of malpractice, including Travis', were made against him in Mississippi.

In addition to the verdict against the clinic, Travis' attorney, James Noble III, said he will pursue a like judgement against Dehenre. Up to this point, Noble says, Dehenre has avoided efforts to serve him with the lawsuit.

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