A Dallas man who contracted an MSRA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection six years ago, which caused him to lose parts of all his limbs, won a $17.5 million judgment this week. 

David Fitzgerald, 53, was diagnosed in 2003 with MSRA, an extremely dangerous strand of Staph infection that is resistant to several common antibiotics and can be fatal.  He developed the infection after having ulcer surgery, and was treated by an infectious disease specialist, Dr. Meenakshi Prabhakar, who gave him eight different antibiotics but not the one needed to treat MSRA. 

At the time, Dr. Prabhakar was one of seven doctors who saw Fitzgerald, and no one knew what kind of infection he had.  Fitzgerald went into septic shock and developed gangrene in all four of his limbs before doctors finally realized he had MSRA and treated him properly.  He had to have emergency surgery to amputate both his arms under his elbows and both legs under the knee.

The Dallas jury found that Dr. Prabhakar was 100 percent liable for what happened, but agreed he was not guilty of gross-negligence.  RHD Hospital and three other doctors named in the suit settled with Fitzgerald before the trial.

When a physician or a health care provider makes a mistake or fails to take appropriate action to prevent harm, the patient has the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.  If you have been injured because of the mistakes of your doctor, call the Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Page Cagle in St. Louis today for a free consultation.