ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — Jurors in New Mexico awarded a man more than $412 million in a medical negligence case involving a men’s health clinic with locations in multiple states.
The man’s attorneys welcomed Monday’s verdict, saying they hope it will keep future men from falling prey to a scheme that included fraud and risky penile injections. They claimed that the punitive and compensatory damages totaled the greatest amount ever given by a jury in a medical negligence case in the United States.
“It’s a national record-setting case, and it’s righteous because I don’t believe licensed professionals should be deceiving patients. “That is a very egregious breach of their fiduciary duty,” said Lori Bencoe, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys. “That’s breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.”
The award comes after a trial in Albuquerque earlier this month that focused on accusations made in a lawsuit filed by the man’s attorneys in 2020. NuMale Medical Center and its officials were identified as defendants.
According to the complaint, the guy was 66 years old when he came to the clinic in 2017 looking for help with exhaustion and weight reduction. The clinic is accused of misdiagnosing him and administering “invasive erectile dysfunction shots” that resulted in permanent damage.
Another attorney on the plaintiff’s side, Nick Rowley, stated that the out-of-state medical firm established a “fraudulent scheme to make millions off of conning old men.” In a social media post, he stated that clinic workers persuaded patients that if they did not agree to three injections per week, they would suffer irreversible damage.
NuMale Medical Center President Brad Palubicki said in a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the company’s priority is to continue providing responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance requirements at all of its locations.
“While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on specific details of the case at this time,” he told reporters.
NuMale also operates clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.
According to court records, jurors determined that the defendants’ deceptive and careless conduct caused harm to the plaintiff. They also determined that the defendants’ unconscionable conduct violated the Unfair Practices Act.
