New Mexico man receives largest medical malpractice payout for botched penile injections

by | Nov 27, 2024 | News

,  | Albuquerque News  | November 26, 2024

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A New Mexico man received what lawyers are calling the largest medical malpractice payout in history. A jury decided this week that he will receive more than $400 million in damages for botched penile injections.

The $412,005,149 verdict was against NuMale Medical Center on Wyoming and Paseo for what attorneys called fraud and unfair business practices. According to the lawsuit, the man in his 70s sought treatment for fatigue and weight loss at NuMale’s Albuquerque clinic in 2017.

Attorneys said the clinic misdiagnosed him and unnecessarily treated him with “invasive erectile dysfunction shots,” causing irreversible damage. “This corporate scheme manipulates and uses fear as a tactic to convince these men to do this,” Nick Rowley, a trial lawyer, told KRQE News 13.

The lawyers said their client went through multiple rounds of medication and procedures, and he underwent surgery by an unqualified physician assistant.

In a statement, the attorneys said this unprecedented verdict sends a powerful message that “medical providers cannot prioritize profits over patients’ well-being without being held accountable.”

NuMale Medical Center told KRQE News 13 that they “disagree with the verdict and intent to pursue all available legal remedies, including appeal.”

 

Largest Medical Malpractice Verdict Worldwide

by | Nov 27, 2024 | News

Kassi Foote |  KOB  | November 26, 2024

RIO RANCHO, N.M. – A jury just awarded a Rio Rancho man with what could be the largest medical malpractice verdict in history.

The Rio Rancho man ended up suing NuMale Medical Center at Wyoming and Paseo because of what he’s gone through and lasting medical consequences.

According to the lawsuit, the physician assistant in this case is Steven Chapman. The victim – Michael – told Chapman he was interested in testosterone replacement therapy to improve his energy and a medically managed weight loss plan.

But according to the lawsuit, Chapman brought up erectile dysfunction. Even though Michael said he was not interested in ED treatment, Chapman told him it was designed to work with the testosterone replacement therapy.

Ultimately, Michael purchased a plan which included testosterone pellet implants in his butt and at home penis injections.

When Michael felt the medications weren’t working, he went back to the office. The lawsuit states Chapman said Michael wasn’t doing it right, demonstrated the penis injection, and sent him home with a medically induced erection.

“This physician assistant injected the chemical into his penis because he couldn’t figure out how to do it, and he injected 75% more of the chemical and a stronger dose than he should have, and sent the patient home and said ‘Go show all your friends.’ This is what he said to a 66-year-old man,” said Nicholas Rowley, Michael’s attorney.

The lawsuit states Michael couldn’t get rid of the erection over the weekend and went back to the clinic. Medical staff tried painful and embarrassing procedures to help Michael, but it didn’t work.

Chapman reportedly told Michael to drive himself to the emergency room where he had emergency surgery. But the damage was done.

“His penis is dead. It’s actually, what it is now is it is much smaller than what it was, and it’s just a lump of scar tissue that doesn’t work in any way shape or form,” said Rowley.

Rowley says the urologist who treated his client claimed he’d seen cases like this before. But the close to half a billion dollar verdict will keep it from happening again.

He also wants this to be a reminder for people.

“If someone’s trying to sell you something medically, take a step back, ask other health care providers, get second opinions and third opinions. If there’s advertisements saying something’s going to be a quick fix for a problem, don’t trust it. Don’t trust it,” said Rowley.

The jury awarded Michael $412 million, but it could surpass $550 million once interest kicks in.

KOB 4 did get a statement from NuMale Medical Center’s president, Brad Palubicki. He says NuMale Medical Center is committed to high quality and safe patient care. They disagree with the verdict and intend to pursue all available legal remedies, including appeal.

 

View the entire article at KOB

Nick Spetsas

Nick Spetsas

by | Oct 17, 2024 | Spetsas Buist

Nick Spetsas

Nick Spetsas, ESQ | TL4J
BAR ADMISSIONS

Florida
United States District Court, Middle District of Florida
United States District Court, Southern District of Florida

 

EDUCATION

University of South Carolina
– J.D. Juris Doctor

Flagler College
– Bachelor of Science

Bio

Nick Spetsas

When catastrophic injury or wrongful death strikes, you need an attorney who knows exactly how insurance companies think, and how to beat them at their own game. Nick brings a unique advantage to every case: years spent defending major corporations and their insurance companies, now turned into a powerful weapon for injured victims and families seeking justice.

Nick’s path to becoming one of Florida’s most formidable trial attorneys began with an insider’s education. After earning his law degree from the University of South Carolina, where he fought for clients as a certified student-attorney at the Juvenile Justice Clinic, Nick strategically chose to learn the defense’s playbook before representing injured people. He worked for Florida’s largest insurance defense firm and then a prominent national insurance defense law firm. He defended Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation involving catastrophic injuries, wrongful death, trucking accidents, and product liability cases.

Today, Nick uses that insider knowledge to his advantage as a trial attorney. Nick knows every tactic insurance companies use to minimize settlements. He knows their negotiation strategies, their trial techniques, and their pressure points. He applies the lessons he learned working for big businesses and insurance companies to maximize recovery for his clients, turning corporate defense strategies against the very companies that taught them to him.

Nick has built his reputation on results that speak louder than words. His aggressive representation and deep understanding of complex litigation have helped him get millions of dollars for his clients, many of whom were rejected by other firms and told they didn’t have a case.

Nick’s philosophy is simple but powerful: Treat every client like family and fight harder than the opposition expects. When you work with Nick, you’re not just hiring an attorney, you’re gaining an advocate who understands both sides of the battlefield and knows exactly how to win.

From his roots in Philadelphia to building his practice in the Sunshine State, Nick has never forgotten that behind every case is a person whose life has been forever changed. That’s why he gets up every morning, puts on the uniform, and goes to war for his clients.

$63 Million Jury Award for a Man Who Developed Cancer

$63 Million Jury Award for a Man Who Developed Cancer

by | Jul 9, 2024 | News

John Roemer | Daily Journal | June 26, 2024

Toxic tort cases where plaintiffs’ injuries arose decades ago are notoriously difficult to prove and win. But attorneys from Ernst Law Group APC and Trial Lawyers for Justice — enduring what one called “scorched earth litigation” from a deep pockets defendant now owned by Chevron Corp. — prevailed and obtained a $63 million jury award for a man who developed cancer more than 25 years after living over an old oilfield sump pit.

The award included $41 million in punitive damages. Making matters harder for the plaintiff’s lawyers was the complication that their client’s multiple myeloma was in remission at the time of the 23-day trial. Wright v. Union Oil Co. of California, 21CV00925 (S. Barbara Sup. Ct., filed March 8, 2021).

“We had to work for our facts. They didn’t want to give us any discovery. They violated court orders,” said M. Taylor Ernst, the founder of San Luis Obispo’s Ernst Law Group, who brought on Trial Lawyers for Justice to try the case. Co-counsel Brian J. Ward, of Trial Lawyers for Justice’s Ventura office, said that along with seeking justice for client Kevin Wright, the team was motivated by a wish to document the history of the oil and gas industry’s abuse of California’s environment.

“And that’s what we did,” Ward said. “Going deep into the history books we found our client’s injury came at the epicenter of the industry that began in the 1890s in the Santa Maria oil fields. We treated the courtroom like a public square where we could expose an industry that has long ducked accountability here.”

Joining Taylor Ernst and Ward were Don A. Ernst and Terry J. Kilpatrick of Ernst Law Group and Erin L. Powers of Trial Lawyers for Justice. That firm’s Jakob Z. Norman of Bozeman, Mont., was also on the team. They faced off with defense lawyers from Alston & Bird LLP and King & Spaulding LLP.

At one point early in the trial the defense violated a court ruling they’d sought that barred use of the term “big oil.” Ward said, “So they started out by saying, ‘Who has a problem with big oil?” Superior Court Judge James F. Rigali asked the plaintiffs if they wanted a new trial. “We declined, based on our faith and pride in our case,” Ernst said.

He likened the trial to a war. “There was no mediation. There was no high low agreement. There was no settlement conference.” The defense offered $50,000 to end the case, he said. Cross-appeals are in progress.

Wright had lived on the contaminated premises for two years and was diagnosed 27 years later with a cancer known to be associated with benzene exposure. The defense denied everything, and the court excluded evidence that Chevron had made remedial efforts to clean the property in 2016.

The plaintiff team found old aerial photos of the oil field showing the location of a chemical sump pit the size of an Olympic swimming pool — “literally underneath our client’s bedroom,” Ernst said. After the trial’s liability phase, Ward said the team was uncertain about quantifying punitives. “But the jury found a way. They made it a million dollars for every year the place went without a cleanup.”

–John Roemer

Arrest of Stanford student journalist covering barricaded pro-Palestinian protest gets pushback

Arrest of Stanford student journalist covering barricaded pro-Palestinian protest gets pushback

by | Jun 25, 2024 | News

Suzanne Phan | ABC 7 News | June 21, 2024, 11:45 PM PST

STANFORD, Calif. (KGO) — When pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the office of Stanford’s president, a student journalist followed them inside.

That student reporter did what journalists do–documented the news as it happened.

However, the journalist could now face criminal charges. His attorney and free speech organizations are pushing back.

“His job was to report. He had no criminal intent,” said Nick Rowley, the attorney representing Stanford student Dilan Gohill.

Police arrested the 19-year-old freshman on June 5 as he was covering a protest for the school newspaper, the Stanford Daily.

Police say a dozen pro-Palestinian protesters barricaded themselves inside the university president’s office and did extensive damage.

The protesters were arrested and booked on suspicion of felony burglary, vandalism and conspiracy.

Gohill, who was reporting and wearing his press badge at the time, could also face charges.

“Charges have not been filed. But Stanford is pushing to have charges filed against him, which is wrong. It’s unethical. It’s unconstitutional,” Rowley said.

On Thursday, the First Amendment Coalition based in San Rafael, along with two dozen journalism groups sent a letter to Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen, asking him not to prosecute the student journalist.

“It was clear that Mr. Gohill was there at the scene to cover the news. There’ s no evidence he was there conspiring with any of the protesters or that he was there for any other reason other than to report the news,” said David Snyder with First Amendment Coalition.

ABC7 News reached out to Stanford University for comment but did not hear back. In a statement previously released, the university said:

“We believe that the daily reporter reporting from inside the building acted in violation of the law and university policies.”

The DA’s office says it has not received the case yet and cannot comment.

Gohill’s attorney says this case is straight forward.

“Dilan didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t vandalize anything. The protesters, they may have committed crimes. That’s for a jury to decide they had the intent. They wanted to barricade themselves in. This is a young reporter who got stuck in the middle of it all–trying his best to ethically do his job. He didn’t do anything of those things,” Rowley said.