$325,000 Jury Verdict for Client Injured When Hospital Missed Diagnosis

When a 20-year-old male client went to St. Michael’s Hospital in Newark in 1987, complaining of pain and swelling in the testicle area, the emergency room physician failed to recognize a dangerous condition known as torsion, or twisting of the testicle cord. Three days later, the man’s right testicle had to be surgically removed. A case was brought against the hospital and the physician by Blume Goldfaden attorney Mitchell Makowicz , Jr., who argued successfully that although the man had suffered no functional disability, he had suffered significant disfigurement and would experience painful embarrassment throughout his lifetime.

A jury trial in Essex County awarded the man with $250,000 in damages, plus interest, bringing the total award to approximately $325,000. The defendants’ motion to reduce or vacate the jury award was denied by the trial judge.