A Prince George’s County, Maryland medical malpractice jury, after a month-long trial that ended in mid-March 2026, awarded a 23-year-old woman who had her left leg amputated because of a delay in diagnosis and treatment of a dislocated knee, $18.65 million in compensatory damages, including $578,094 for past medical expenses and $3.07 million for future medical expenses. The $15 million the Maryland medical malpractice jury awarded for pain and suffering will be reduced to $830,000, pursuant to Maryland’s cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases that was it effect at the time.
Plaintiff Jamie White was walking to work in December 2020 when she slipped and fell on an icy sidewalk, injuring her elbow and dislocating her knee, resulting in all of the ligaments in her knee being torn. Once she arrived by ambulance at the hospital, the surgery on her knee did not occur until eight hours after she suffered the injury. The surgery successfully restored blood flow to her lower leg but the circulation stopped after a couple of hours. A second surgery was performed seven hours later. Because of the two prolonged episodes of inadequate blood supply to her leg, she suffered permanent damage to muscles and nerves.
More than 24 surgeries were performed over the following eight months in an effort to save her leg, but her leg ultimately required amputation, which was done in August 2021. For the first two years after the amputation, she used a wheelchair. When she received a prosthetic leg, she was unable to find a comfortable one despite hundreds of fittings.
The woman’s Maryland medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that delays in diagnosing and operating on the knee led to hours of oxygen deprivation to her lower leg that resulted in the amputation. Her medical malpractice lawsuit was limited to the care she received (failed to receive) during the first two days after her injury.
The Maryland medical malpractice jury found that defendants University of Maryland Capital Region Health, Shock Trauma Associates, and Maryland Emergency Medicine Network Physicians liable, but also found defendants Surgical Associates and the vascular surgeon not liable because their breach of the standard of care was not a substantial factor in causing the alleged harm to the plaintiff.
The woman stated after the verdict in her favor: “It was just a relief. It felt really good that they actually took the time to listen to the evidence and just rule in our favor,. This was the last bit of closure that I needed from it all. It’s going to help me and my family out tremendously.”
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) as a result of medical malpractice in Maryland, you should promptly find the best Maryland medical malpractice lawyer for you, who may investigate your medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a Maryland medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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