Midwest News
Government Appeals $8.6 Million Judgment in Illinois Malpractice Case
The U.S. government wants a federal judge in Illinois to trim his $8.6 million judgement over a former Scott Air Force Base doctor's failure to properly treat a woman's case of flesh-eating bacteria.
Federal Magistrate Judge Philip Frazier in East St. Louis ruled last month in favor of 36-year-old Jean Phillips.
Phillips was the wife of an Air Force captain stationed at Scott in 2002 when she sought treatment from Dr. Daniel MacAlpine for a rash on her right arm.
MacAlpine thought Phillips was an addict looking for prescription drugs and told her to go home and take Motrin. But the rash turned out to be so-called flesh-eating bacteria that Frazier says cost her the use of her right arm.
MacAlpine isn't commenting.
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