NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- A hospital in Mineola, N.Y., has been ordered to pay $62 million to a woman who lost her legs to gangrene after what was supposed to be routine surgery.
A jury in New York City's borough of Brooklyn ruled in favor of Stacey Galette and against Winthrop University Hospital, the New York Daily News reported.
Galette, a Brooklyn resident, went to the hospital in 2009 for surgery to end an ectopic pregnancy, where the fetus implants in the fallopian tube. When she was discharged after the laproscopic procedure, she was in severe pain, and three days later the hospital amputated both legs.
In her lawsuit, Galette charged that her intestine was pierced during the procedure, causing gangrene. She also lost most of her hearing.
"We knew mistakes had been made," Miriam Beyer, a member of the jury, told the News. "Our main issue was who's responsible and how much money do you put on the loss of enjoyment of life, on the loss of a limb."
The hospital says it will appeal.
