The Zinn Law Firm obtained a combined $787,500 settlement for a man who had to have his leg amputated when his orthopedic surgeon failed to diagnoses and treat compartment syndrome that occurred after he had a complex knee surgery.
The defendants were a Bay Area hospital and the surgeon who performed the procedure. Compartment syndrome occurs when excessive pressure builds up inside an enclosed muscle space in the body. Compartment syndrome usually results from bleeding or swelling after an injury or surgery.
The firm was able to prove that the surgeon failed to follow the standard of care when he failed to respond to numerous calls from nurses and the signs and symptoms that a compartment syndrome was developing.
Because our client did not suffer substantial wage loss due to this injury, due to the $250,000 MICRA cap on pain and suffering, at trial his recovery would have been limited to $250,000 to pay for the loss of his leg, plus the costs of his leg prosthesis he required, underscoring the brutal unfairness of the MICRA cap placed on claims for pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. Our settlement was successfully far beyond this limit.