Michigan Jury Awards $1.2 Million to Patient for Hospital Burns

A 78-year-old Washington Township woman has been awarded $1.2 million for burns and permanent scars suffered while she was a patient at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital.

Valerija Milosevic was awarded the money by a Macomb County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday.

Defense lawyers said Milosevic’s injuries resulted from a hospital resident’s actions in October 2007.

Milosevic was a patient at the hospital recovering from a heart attack, when she fell out of bed and suffered facial fractures and a deep cut over her eye. To treat the cut, the resident used a device that was placed near Milosevic’s supplementary oxygen and later exploded.

Hospital representatives said in a statement they respect the jury’s verdict and extended sympathy to Milosevic and her family.