Olean, New York | $750,000 | Medical Malpractice
Plaintiff, a 37-year-old Air Force Technical Sergeant, trained as an aircraft mechanic, had lacerated his right wrist on a pane of glass. The doctors and hospitals failed to perform appropriate testing, and the tests they did perform indicated a problem with the median nerve of his right hand. The hospital staff stitched up his wrist, and he returned to active duty in Osan, South Korea. While in the service, military physicians noted his inability to make a fist and his continued lack of strength and sensation in his right hand. Surgery to repair the lacerated median nerve was performed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base and, by that time, Chilson had lost 80% of the sensory function of his right hand, along with a significant loss of motor function. Before trial, the plaintiff was offered a total amount of $20,000 to settle.
After an eight-day trial, a Cattaraugus County Supreme Court jury awarded Chilson $750,000.
