Washington Woman Awarded $813,000

A Spokane, Wash., jury awarded $813,000 this week to a woman whose foot was amputated following the wrong diagnosis by her physician.

It was the second time a jury heard Darlene Turner’s medical malpractice suit against now-retired Dr. Nathan Stime. The first case, in 2008, was declared a mistrial because of juror misconduct.

The Spokesman-Review reported that Turner first went to Stime in 2004. She alleged that Stime failed to conduct an appropriate physical when he diagnosed her as having terminal cancer. She actually was suffering from pneumonia, which caused her to lapse into a coma and later resulted in the amputation of her left foot.

The jury awarded Turner damages for past and future medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and for changes to her lifestyle.