David Fritzgerald used to work as a maintenance man at a North Dallas apartment complex. In 2003 he developed a stomach ulcer that required surgery. After being admitted to RHD Memorial Medical Center in Farmers Branch, however, he contracted MRSA and within a month he was a quadruple amputee.

Linda Turley, Fritzgerald’s attorney, said on behalf of her client

This has been a life changing event. There is nothing about his life that will ever be the same

Turley reports that a mere three days after undergoing surgery on his ulcer, Fitzgerald was feeling unwell. She goes into more detail:

He was coughing up green stuff, and had a high fever, and his chest x-ray was not normal. During the day, he developed sepsis, and then that evening, went into septic shock.

The septic shock caused irreparable damage to his limbs. By the time the infection was diagnosed and treated, gangrene had set in, requiring the removal of both arms below his elbows and both legs below his knees.

Turley maintains that Fritzgerald’s physician, Doctor Meenakshi Prabhakar, did not treat her client with the proper medicine. Just a month after his initial minor surgery, MRSA had infected Fritzgerald’s limbs so badly that he had to undergo major surgery to amputate his legs. Sadly, the ordeal was far from over when Fritzgerald had to undergo surgery for a third time to remove his arms.

Fritzgerald settled out of court with RHD Memorial Hospital for $900,000. Last week, a Dallas County jury awarded Fritzgerald $17.5 million in damages.

Judge Jim Jordan of 160th District Court awarded $9 million for Fitzgerald’s pain, mental anguish and physical impairment, but Texas state law caps non-economic damages at $250,000. This limit was established in 2003 by the Texas Legislature and applied to all medical malpractice cases. Lost earnings and medical costs, however, can be collected for life.

Turley responded

That is unfair. The jury awarded Mr. Fritzgerald the $9 million, and he’s entitled to his award

Fitzgerald, who lives with his brother in East Texas, has had to rely on family members for daily living over the last six years.

He can’t bathe by himself, can’t get out of the house by himself and will need assistance for the rest of his life

Turley said.

Doctor Meenakshi Prabhakar, a Bedford infectious-disease specialist, is appealing the decision with the help of attorney William Chamblee.

Chamblee:

I think it’s erroneous and it’s a travesty. In my opinion, the jury based their verdict on sympathy, and the judge told them not to

Chamblee went on to say that his client administered eight antibiotics to Fitzgerald but not the one drug that would have treated MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Chamblee said of Fitzgerald’s infection:

There were no less than seven doctors from seven specialties, all board-certified, who saw this guy over the crucial time period, and nobody knew what it was

Nevertheless, the jury found Prabhaker to be 100 percent responsible for what happened to Fitzgerald, though it agreed the doctor was not guilty of “gross negligence.”

In recent years, MRSA infections have become more common in Texas and throughout the country. Many more are being acquired in community settings, including schools and locker rooms.