LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky jury has awarded $10.5 million to a woman whose leg had to be amputated after hospital staffers years prior didn't remove a sponge inside her during heart surgery.
The Courier-Journal reports the jury awarded $1 million in punitive damages, $1.4 million in medical expenses and roughly $8 million for pain and suffering to 62-year-old Carolyn Boerste.
Attorneys James “Bo” Bolus and Nick Mudd said the ruling “restores some sense of dignity” to Boerste and reminds hospitals to be vigilant about removing all appropriate items after surgery.
David McArthur, a spokesman for the hospital, said it will appeal the decision.