Man Awarded $2.58 Million for Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in St. Louis

A couple in St Louis Missouri were awarded a total of $2.58 million by a jury on July 30th from a medical malpractice lawsuit stemming from a Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) infection that James Klotz received after having a pacemaker installed back in 2004 by Dr. Michael Shapiro at St. Anthony’s Medical Center.

Klotz, who had a heart attack on March 17, 2004, had an IV inserted by paramedics who responded to the emergency. Shapiro inserted a temporary pacemaker on March 20th and a permanent one the next day. Klotz was diagnoses with MRSA in April, and led to doctors removing the pacemaker as well as golf ball sized masses of infection. The plaintiff’s claim is that the MRSA infection was due to Shapiro installing the pacemaker even though there was redness on his wrist from the IV, and that the installation became the conduit for the spread of the infection. The defense argued that the infection could have come from anywhere, and that Shapiro was not negligent in his actions.

The infection led to Klotz losing a kidney, the amputation of his right leg and part of his left foot, and the loss of some hearing. The jury found that Shapiro was 67% responsible for St. Anthony’s Medical Center 33% responsible for the infection and injuries, and awarded him $2,067,000 in damages. The jury awarded an additional $513,000 to Klotz’s wife, Mary, who had to quit her job in order to care for him.

Defense attorney John T. Eckenrode expected the jury to vote in Klotz’s favor, who came to their decision after seven hours of deliberation. Eckenrode now plans to appeal the decision.