Jim Palmer Awarded $890,000 for Botched Surgery

Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer was awarded $890,000 by a jury for damages resulting from a botched eye surgery, his attorney said.

After a two-week trial, it took a jury about four hours to decide Palmer should receive the money for suffering, lost wages and mental and physical pain, Gary Cohen told The Associated Press.

Palmer pitched for the Baltimore Orioles from 1965-84, winning three AL Cy Young Awards and finishing 268-152 with a 2.86 ERA. He still works as a broadcaster for the Orioles, but he gets headaches, sees spots and sometimes has other visual problems as a result of the botched surgery, Cohen said.

Palmer sued ophthalmologist Tom Coffman after Coffman performed cataract surgery on his left eye in 2001, Cohen said. During the surgery, Coffman implanted an artificial lens which should never have been used, Cohen said. The experimental lens has since been taken off the market and was known to create night vision problems, Cohen said.

Cohen added that Coffman then failed to diagnose the symptoms of a retinal tear as a result of the surgery, which then led to further complications.

Coffman’s attorney, Keith Puya, didn’t return a telephone message or an e-mail sent after business hours Monday. A telephone message left after business hours at Coffman’s office also was not immediately returned.

“I am very happy for Mr. Palmer. He feels very vindicated by the system and by the jury,” Cohen said.