Wis. Appeals Court Upholds $8 Million Malpractice Award

A Wisconsin appeals court has upheld a jury’s $8 million medical malpractice award to a woman whose inner organs were paralyzed by a botched surgery.

The state’s medical malpractice fund argued a judge coerced jurors into reaching a verdict after they were deadlocked in the case of Jessica Greenfield of Waupun.

The District 4 Court of Appeals rejected the argument. The court says the jury instructions were not grounds for a mistrial and did not amount to coercion.

The case is significant because it was the first major award after the state Supreme Court struck down caps on damages for pain and suffering in such cases in 2005.

The 2000 surgery left Greenfield’s stomach and intestines unable to function.