In a record-setting lawsuit, jurors in New Mexico have awarded a man more than $412m in a medical malpractice case linked to penile injections and involving a men’s health clinic that operates in several states.
The man’s attorneys said they hoped the outcome will prevent other men from falling victim to a scheme that involved fraud and what they described as dangerous penile injections. They told CBS News the punitive and compensatory damages total the largest amount to ever be awarded by a jury in a medical malpractice case in the US.
“It’s a national record-setting case and … there is no place for licensed professionals to be defrauding patients for money. That is an egregious breach of their fiduciary duty,” said Lori Bencoe, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiff.
The award follows a trial in Albuquerque earlier this month that centred on allegations in a lawsuit filed in 2020. NuMale Medical Centre and company officials were named as defendants.
According to the complaint, the man was 66 when he visited the clinic in 2017 seeking treatment for fatigue and weight loss. The clinic is accused of misdiagnosing him and unnecessarily treating him with “invasive erectile dysfunction shots” that caused irreversible damage.
Nick Rowley, another attorney who was part of the plaintiff’s team, said the out-of-state medical corporation set up a “fraudulent scheme to make millions from conning old men”.
Clinic workers apparently told patients they would have irreversible damage if they didn’t agree to injections three times a week.
Protests
The NuMale Medical Centre said it “disagrees with the verdict and intends to pursue all available legal remedies, including appeal”.
NuMale Medical Centre President Brad Palubicki said in a statement that the company’s focus was on “continuing to deliver responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance standards at all of its facilities”.
According to court records, jurors found that fraudulent and negligent conduct by the defendants resulted in damages to the plaintiff. They also found that unconscionable conduct by the defendants violated the Unfair Practices Act.
The man’s attorneys said the verdict sends a powerful message that “medical providers cannot prioritise profits over patients’ well-being without being held accountable”.
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