Estate of late WWII vet gets $749,000 over surgery

Local News

July 24, 2009

Anonymous Picayune Item Fri Jul 24, 2009, 08:38 AM CDT

JACKSON — A federal judge has awarded $749,000 to the estate of a World War II veteran who lost much of his vision during surgery at the Veterans Administration medical facility in Jackson.

U.S. District Judge Tom Lee said in a footnote to Monday’s 18-page ruling that he was inclined to award more money for Charles West’s suffering, “which clearly has been extreme,” but was limited by Mississippi’s pain-and-suffering cap in such lawsuits.

West, who owned a grocery store in Greenville before moving to Brandon after his wife died, claimed in his suit that he suffered damage to the corneas of both eyes during a blepharoplasty, a procedure to remove sagging skin between the eyebrow and the eye lid.

West’s injury most likely occurred when a nurse used an undiluted Betadine solution or scrub during preparation for his surgery on March 10, 2006, Lee said.

“After the malpractice, the VA called Mr. West, his 83-year-old sister and his niece into a meeting and told them he had an allergic reaction. They lied to him,” West’s attorney, Billy Quin, said Wednesday. “If they just would have said this, ’We messed up, but we’re going to take care of you’ and then followed through and taken care of him there probably never would have been a lawsuit.”

An attorney for the VA did not respond to messages left by The Associated Press.

The VA disputed the cause and severity of West’s injuries in court records.

West died May 8 at the age of 91, after the trial but before the court’s ruling. The money, if Lee’s ruling stands, would go to his estate.

According to court records, West decided to have the operation after consulting Dr. Daniel K. Kim, an ophthalmology surgeon at the VA, because the sagging skin was a nuisance and removing it could improve his peripheral vision and quality of life.

“Unfortunately, however, during the procedure, Mr. West suffered chemical burns to his corneas, which caused severe vision loss in both of his eyes,” Lee wrote. “As a result of his loss of vision, Mr. West became dependent on others for his care.”

Kim did not immediately respond Wednesday to a message.

Lee awarded actual damages of about $249,000 and the maximum $500,000 allowed for so-called non-economic damages, or pain and suffering, under a cap adopted by Mississippi lawmakers for medical malpractice cases in 2002.

“In fact, but for the statutory cap, the court, taking into account future non-economic damages, would have been inclined to award more than $500,000,” Lee wrote.

The cap on pain and suffering was adopted after years of contentious wrangling over tort reform in Mississippi. Doctors, businesses and medical groups had argued that the legal climate in Mississippi was untenable due to excessive awards in civil lawsuits. Plaintiffs attorneys and others claimed caps on damages further victimized people who had been wronged by negligence and denied them compensation they deserved.

Text Only

Local News

SIDEWALK WORK CONTINUES SIDEWALK WORK CONTINUES — Jeffrey Hartfield, left, and Eddie Fry finish up sidewalk work in front of Snyder Park on Beech Street on Thursday. They work for RJM, which subcontracted the work from HSI. Almost the full length of Beech is getting a workover in a $400,000 project.
February 10, 2012 1 Photo
CROSSES ERECTED St. Charles Catholic Church on Goodyear Boulevard has erected crosses it says represents the number of abortion daily in the U.S.
February 10, 2012 1 Photo
Shooting suspects bound to grand jury Two of the three suspects involved in December’s deadly shoot-out have been bound over to the grand jury. Those defendants are 27-year-old Quincy Jones and 31-year-old Decori King.
February 10, 2012
Saturday noon is last chance to register to vote in March 13 primaries The heated race to see who will get the Republican nomination for President continues and is coming to Pearl River County, as voters trek to the polls to vote in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries on March 13, and in the primaries for the U.S. Senate and congressional races.
February 10, 2012
Friends of Boley discuss next cleanup Members of the Friends of Boley met Thursday morning to plan for their next big cleanup. With the next cleanup scheduled for April 21, Christy Goss, a city employee, suggested combining that effort with the Great American Cleanup the city participates in each year.
February 10, 2012
SAFETY DAY Picayune Police officers made a visit to the First Baptist Church of Picayune’s preschool class for their Community Helpers Safety Day. During the event the kids got to meet police officers and trigger lights and sirens in patrol vehicles.
February 9, 2012 1 Photo
Escapee caught in county Pearl River County Sheriff’s deputies have captured the inmate who escaped from Mississippi Department of Corrections custody on Friday after attending his father’s wake in Picayune.
February 9, 2012
Council discusses which funds to spend first On the same day as the ground breaking for the addition to the historic City Hall, city council members discussed which funds to spend first in its construction.
February 9, 2012
Poplarville aldermen honor Holliday, get audit report briefing The city board of aldermen honored former District Three Supervisor Hudson Holliday at its Tuesday night meeting. Mayor Billy Spiers presented Holliday with a framed resolution of appreciation for his dedication and service to the city while serving as county supervisor.
February 9, 2012 1 Photo
MRI INSTALLED
This $1.2 million Magnetic Resonance Imaging equipment was installed at the new location of Highland Community Hospital.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Estate of late WWII vet gets $749,000 over surgery

Site Map

Contact Us