Email Newsletters

Jury rules Midstate patient to receive $4.2M

A jury in the New Haven Superior Court on Wednesday awarded $4.3 million to a 58-year-old man who lost the use of his shoulder while undergoing surgery at Midstate Medical Group.

The Wallingford resident, Gregory Leigh, had sued Dr. Daniel Schwartz and Midstate Medical Group in Meriden over a surgery to remove a swollen lymph node on the left side of his neck.

The issue started in 2008 when Leigh sought treatment for the lymph node from Schwartz, who scheduled surgery to remove it. It was later found that Leigh was suffering from a bacterial infection that did not require removal of the lymph node, but Schwartz did not do a test for this infection, according to the lawsuit.

During the surgery, Schwartz damaged Leigh’s spinal accessory nerve, the lawsuit said. As a result, Leigh has a disfigurement on his arm and shoulder, cannot extend his arm or raise it over his head, has permanent numbness and pain, and can’t work without difficulty.

The trial to award the $4.2 million lasted two and a half weeks. Leigh was represented by New Haven law firm Koskoff, Kofkoff & Bieder.

ADVERTISEMENT

Midstate Medical Group, which is owned by Hartford Healthcare, did not comment directly on the award but issued a statement.

“At Hartford HealthCare, we are committed to patient safety. It is at the heart of everything we do. We are focused on the important work of improving patient safety and quality within our network and across the country,” the statement read.

Get our email newsletter

Hartford Business News

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Hartford and beyond.

Close the CTA