Prostate Cancer Surgery in Misplaced Patient Costing $ 12.25 Million at Iowa Clinic

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Common symptoms of prostate cancer that every man should know,
Statesman-Journal

OF THE MONKS, Iowa – A jury on Friday awarded $ 12.25 million to a man in Iowa who had undergone a debilitating surgery for prostate cancer, before learning that he did not suffer from cancer.

A pathologist from Iowa Clinic mixed samples of non-cancerous Rickie Huitt tissue with those of a man with prostate cancer. The error led to a false diagnosis and a surgeon removed the prostate from Huitt in April 2017. The operation damaged the neighboring nerves, leaving Huitt helpless and incontinent.

The Iowa Clinic, which is the largest group of medical specialists in the Des Moines area, admitted this error. But both parties disagreed on the amount of compensation deserved by Huitt.

Retired John Deere employee of Panora, and his wife, Judy Huitt, filed a lawsuit, seeking $ 15 million in damages from the Iowa Clinic and his pathologist. , Joy Trueblood. A lawyer from the clinic and the doctor recommended Friday to the Polk County jurors to award $ 750,000.

"There has never been a dispute over the unnecessary transaction," defense lawyer Jack Hilmes told the jury on Friday morning. Hilmes asked the jurors to fix "reasonable" damages. "Clearly, we do not think $ 15 million is a reasonable compensation," he said.

The team of four Huitts lawyers was led by Nick Rowley, a nationally renowned lawyer who joined the case last week. Rowley told the jurors that $ 15 million was a fair assessment of the loss suffered by the couple due to the Iowa clinic's negligence.

The headquarters of the Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines. (Photo: Tony Leys / The Register)

Rowley urged the jury to ignore the defense's claim that the Huitts did not deserve as much money, as 67-year-old Rickie Huitt is still able to do things like mowing his garden, attending the Fair the state and get her granddaughters back to school.

"For him, he lost his manhood," said Rowley in his final argument. "If he had lost his left leg, there would be no reason to talk about his nose, his ears or his left hand."

The trial, which began Tuesday, included emotional testimony from the Huitts about how the side effects of surgery had damaged their lives.

Judy Huitt was torn up several times when she explained to the jurors that her husband felt diminished as a husband because of his helplessness. She echoed her previous testimony that they had an active love life until her erroneous surgery. "He changed our world forever," she said Thursday.

The details of the laboratory confusion were not discussed during the trial.

She said that she and her husband were relieved that the trial was over. It was embarrassing and stressful to testify on such personal issues, she said.

"It was horrible, like standing in front of everyone – it was raw," she said.

When asked to comment after the verdict, Iowa Clinic's spokesperson, Amy Hilmes, responded by email: "We are disappointed with the jury's decision, but we respect the process very much. judicial. We will evaluate our legal options. "