Bureaucratic Bungling at City Hospital Cost Brooklyn Man His Leg
On Sep. 22, 2015, Delfino Cuautle, father of three, had to undergo an emergency amputation of his leg above the knee due to a series of bureaucratic bungling at Coney Island Hospital, NYC. The 13 hours delay in surgery triggered the need for amputation of Cuautle’s leg. Cuautle filed a medical malpractice lawsuit at Brooklyn Federal Court. The jury awarded him $24 million for his suffering that could have been easily prevented had timely treatment been initiated.
Amputation Resulting from Negligence and Medical Malpractice
According to statistics, nearly 2 million people live with limb loss in the United States. The main causes of loss of limb are peripheral arterial disease, diabetes, and other vascular diseases, which make up for 54%, trauma which makes up for 45% as well as cancer, which accounts for 2%. Every year, about 185,000 amputations take place in the US.
