A group of jurors in New Mexico have announced the award of $412 million to a man in a medical malpractice case that involved a men’s health clinic that operates in several states.
The counsel to the man on Monday celebrated the judgement by the court stating that they were optimistic that it would prevent other men from falling victim to a scheme that involved fraud and what they described as dangerous penile injections. They said the punitive and compensatory damages total the largest amount to ever be awarded by a jury in a medical malpractice case in the U.S.
Lori Bencoe, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiff noted that it was a national record-setting case and it’s righteous because he never thought there is no place were licensed professional is allowed to defrauding patients for money. The lawyer further stated that it was a very egregious breach of their fiduciary duty, according to the lawyer it was a breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
The award came after a trial held in Albuquerque earlier this month that centered on allegations outlined in a lawsuit filed by the man’s attorneys in 2020. NuMale Medical Center and company officials were named as defendants.
According to the complaint, the man was 66 when he visited the clinic in 2017 in search of treatment for fatigue and weight loss. The clinic is accused of misdiagnosing him and unnecessarily treating him with “invasive erectile dysfunction shots” that caused irreversible damage.
Nick Rowley, another attorney who was part of the plaintiff’s team, stated that the out-of-state medical corporation set up a fraudulent scheme to make millions off of conning old men. He provided some details in a social media post, saying clinic workers told patients they would have irreversible damage if they didn’t agree to injections three times a week.
NuMale Medical Center President Brad Palubicki in statement on Wednesday noted that that the company’s focus is on continuing to deliver responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance standards at all of its facilities. The statement further noted that the while the hospital shows absolute respect for the judicial process they could not provide further comments on the issues and provide more details on the case as at the time,
NuMale has been operating clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin in the past years.
The court records revealed that the jurors found that fraudulent and negligent conduct by the defendants resulted in damages to the plaintiff. They also found that unconscionable conduct by the defendants violated the Unfair Practices Act.
