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$1,000,000 Award for Crude, Nonconsensual Finger Amputation
On May 22, 2001, a South Carolina jury awarded $1 million to a state prisoner who claimed that after he traumatically severed his ring finger in a slip and fall accident, a prison doctor crudely amputated the residual bone at the prison infirmary without his consent.
On June 22, 1995, while imprisoned at the Allendale Correctional Institute, plaintiff Carol Keith Bates slipped in his cell. As he was falling Bates grabbed for a locker, catching his wedding ring in the process and severing his finger near the middle joint. Bates was quickly taken to the prison infirmary with the finger in his pocket.
At the infirmary Bates was seen by Dr. William Fender, who informed him that his finger could not be reattached and that the residual bone required amputation. Bates contended that he asked Fender to transfer him to the hospital, but the doctor refused. In a two-hour procedure, Fender performed the amputation in the prison infirmary without the proper or necessary instruments, and at one point asked the prison dentist for assistance. Throughout the ordeal Bates claims he experienced pain.
Bates sued Dr. Fender claiming gross negligence and a lack of informed consent. Bates specifically contended that he did not consent to being treated in the prison infirmary, that the care was substandard, and that he suffered permanent injury as a result.
Dr. Charles Rosenburg of Boca Raton, Florida, Bates' medicine/health care administration expert, testified that defendant Fender breached the standard of care by transecting Bates' finger in the prison infirmary. Dr. Rosenburg further testified that Fender was not qualified to perform the amputation, nor did he have the proper and necessary equipment. Rosenburg additionally opined that had the transaction been performed by a qualified surgeon it would not have taken so long and Bates would have been left with a more functional stump and, consequently, less chronic discomfort.
The jury reached a verdict in favor of Bates, specifically finding that Fender's substandard treatment was so egregious as to warrant punitive damages. Accordingly, Bates was awarded damages in the amount of $1 million ($250,000 compensatory and $750,000 punitive). Bates was represented by attorneys Richard A. Harpootlian of Richard A. Harpootlian, and James M. Griffin of Simmons & Griffin, both of Columbia, South Carolina. See: Bates v. Fender, Bramberg County Court, Case No. 97-CP-03-33.
On June 22, 1995, while imprisoned at the Allendale Correctional Institute, plaintiff Carol Keith Bates slipped in his cell. As he was falling Bates grabbed for a locker, catching his wedding ring in the process and severing his finger near the middle joint. Bates was quickly taken to the prison infirmary with the finger in his pocket.
At the infirmary Bates was seen by Dr. William Fender, who informed him that his finger could not be reattached and that the residual bone required amputation. Bates contended that he asked Fender to transfer him to the hospital, but the doctor refused. In a two-hour procedure, Fender performed the amputation in the prison infirmary without the proper or necessary instruments, and at one point asked the prison dentist for assistance. Throughout the ordeal Bates claims he experienced pain.
Bates sued Dr. Fender claiming gross negligence and a lack of informed consent. Bates specifically contended that he did not consent to being treated in the prison infirmary, that the care was substandard, and that he suffered permanent injury as a result.
Dr. Charles Rosenburg of Boca Raton, Florida, Bates' medicine/health care administration expert, testified that defendant Fender breached the standard of care by transecting Bates' finger in the prison infirmary. Dr. Rosenburg further testified that Fender was not qualified to perform the amputation, nor did he have the proper and necessary equipment. Rosenburg additionally opined that had the transaction been performed by a qualified surgeon it would not have taken so long and Bates would have been left with a more functional stump and, consequently, less chronic discomfort.
The jury reached a verdict in favor of Bates, specifically finding that Fender's substandard treatment was so egregious as to warrant punitive damages. Accordingly, Bates was awarded damages in the amount of $1 million ($250,000 compensatory and $750,000 punitive). Bates was represented by attorneys Richard A. Harpootlian of Richard A. Harpootlian, and James M. Griffin of Simmons & Griffin, both of Columbia, South Carolina. See: Bates v. Fender, Bramberg County Court, Case No. 97-CP-03-33.
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Related legal case
Bates v. Fender
| Year | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Cite | Bamberg County Court, Case No. 97-CP-03-33 |
| Level | State Trial Court |
| Conclusion | Jury Verdict |
| Attorney Fees | 0 |
| Damages | 1,000,000.00 |
| Injunction Status | N/A |
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