Appeal Likely in $25M Wisconsin Medical Malpractice Award

A Milwaukee, Wis., woman and her husband have been awarded more than $25 million in a medical malpractice case.

The woman’s arms and legs were amputated in 2011 after a strep infection went undetected. A Milwaukee County jury determined Ascaris Mayo lost her limbs as a result of medical malpractice.

Defense attorneys are expected to appeal the award of $15 million for pain and suffering and $1.5 million for her husband’s loss of companionship because Wisconsin law limits those types of damages to $75,000. Mayo’s attorney Daniel Rottier tells the Journal Sentinel he expects the case will be decided by the state Supreme Court.

The jury found that the doctor and the physician’s assistant failed to provide Mayo with “alternative medical diagnoses” that would have led her to pursue other treatment.