In early June 2025, a New York medical malpractice jury awarded a 75-year-old man, who exercised and swam regularly, $5.6 million for his leg amputation that was required due to a hospital emergency room visit on June 6, 2018, which he alleged was entirely preventable, according to his New York medical malpractice lawsuit. His New York medical malpractice lawyers reportedly asked the jury to award the man and and his wife $4.5 million.
According to the man’s lawyers, “Despite clear signs of serious illness and dangerously low blood pressure, life-saving intervention was delayed. Within hours, circulation to [his] leg deteriorated beyond repair, requiring an above-the-knee amputation.” Afterwards, the surgical site became infected which required a second procedure to amputate the remaining portion of the leg up to his hip.
“The loss of [his] leg was entirely preventable if basic, yet critical, measures had not been overlooked by the doctor in charge of [his] care. I think this verdict sends a clear message that Upstate New York juries are ready and willing to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable.”
The hospital issued a statement that read, in part: “Samaritan Medical Center strives to provide high-quality care to all patients, however, adverse outcomes sometimes happen. This is an unfortunate circumstance, but we cannot comment directly on this active court case or any situation regarding patient health information.”
The same hospital was found negligent in another leg amputation medical malpractice claim in 2021, arising out of the treatment received by a Fort Drum soldier in 2014 in the hospital’s emergency department for pain in his right leg that was misdiagnosed as tendonitis instead of blockages and clots that required that his leg be amputated above the knee. A New York medical malpractice jury awarded the soldier, who had to retire from the Army and had to use a wheelchair after his leg amputation, $13.5 million in damages.
Each year, more than 500,000 Americans on average experience limb loss or are born with a limb difference. The vast majority—about 465,000 cases—are due to amputations, while approximately 43,000 involve congenital limb differences. About 1 in every 62 Americans (1.62% of the total population) lives with some form of limb loss or difference.
Among individuals who undergo amputations, 57% have a prior diagnosis of diabetes.
Among those who undergo below-knee amputations, only 55% were reported to have a good functional outcome (that is, they regained mobility and independence effectively). For above-knee amputations, the percentage is 45%.
If you or a loved one suffered harm due to emergency room medical malpractice in New York or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a New York medical malpractice attorney or a medical malpractice attorney in your state who may investigate your emergency room medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in an emergency department medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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