Jurors in New Mexico have awarded a man more than $412 million in a medical malpractice case that involved a men’s health clinic that operates in several states.
The man’s attorneys celebrated Monday’s verdict, saying they are hopeful it will prevent other men from falling victim to a scheme that involved fraud and what they described as dangerous penile injections. They said the punitive and compensatory damages total the largest amount to ever be awarded by a jury in a medical malpractice case in the U.S.
“It’s a national record setting case and it’s righteous because I don’t think there’s any place for licensed professionals to be defrauding patients for money. That is a very egregious breach of their fiduciary duty,” said Lori Bencoe, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiff. “That’s breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
The award follows a trial held in Albuquerque earlier this month that centered on allegations outlined in a lawsuit filed by the man’s attorneys in 2020. NuMale Medical Center and company officials were named as defendants.