$8.5 Million Award Upheld in Flesh-Eating Bacteria Case
A federal judge has upheld most of an $8.5 million award to the ex-wife of an Air Force officer who lost use of one of her arms to a flesh-eating virus that was misdiagnosed by a military doctor.
The woman, Jean Philips, sought treatment in 2002 from a physician at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, where her then-husband, a captain, was stationed. Philips had developed a rash on her arm.
The physician, Dr. Dan MacAlpine, assumed that Philips was a drug addict looking for prescription drugs and told her to go home and take over-the-counter pain medication for the rash, which turned out to be necrotizing fasciitis, a condition also called flesh-eating bacteria. Philips eventually lost the use of her right arm.
Federal Magistrate Judge Philip Frazier upheld the bulk of the financial award to Philips but had previously trimmed $1.13 million from the award. The judge lowered damages covering Phillips’ past medical expenses by $62,748, settling on an $8.46 million payout.
Air Force attorneys said they are “looking at all options” in the case and may consider filing an appeal of the judge’s ruling upholding the financial award.
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