$1.5 Million Awarded in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Atlanta, GA: A 47-year old disabled man who suffers from diabetes and chronic pancreatitis, has been awarded a $1.5 million settlement for pain and suffering in his medical malpractice lawsuit.

Johnnie Jackson was admitted to Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, GA, on April 30, 2005, seeking treatment for complications from his pancreatic disease. According to court documents, a nurse inserted an IV containing Phenargen, an anti-nausea drug, and Demerol, a painkiller, into Jackson's right wrist at about 6:30 that evening. When his condition was checked an hour or so later everything appeared to be alright. However, at about 3 a.m. May 1, the site of the insertion was "painful and swollen," and the needle was removed 45 minutes later.

Roughly nine hours later, when Jackson's doctor finally checked in on Jackson, the physician discovered that the drugs had leaked into Jackson's surrounding tissue. The physician elevated Jackson's hand but the pain continued.

On the afternoon of May 2, Jackson was transported to the South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta where an orthopedic surgeon performed surgery on his wrist but was unable to save the thumb. Jackson spent another 24 days at the Valdosta facility where he underwent "multiple additional surgeries to save his hand," according to a complaint Shamp filed in 2007, naming Coffee Regional and five nurses as defendants, asserting that the nurses had allowed the drugs to infiltrate the tissue surrounding the IV needle.

In his lawuit, Jackson's lawyer asked for between $1.2 and $1.6 million, based on an annual sum of between $35,000 and $40,000 a year he would need for the rest of his life.