New trial ordered in malpractice case
State Supreme Court Justice Timothy J. Drury has ordered a new trial on financial damages in the malpractice case of an Olean businessman left permanently paralyzed after a stroke.
Daniel C. Oakes, an excavation contractor, was awarded $5 million in April after a trial at which the jury ordered Kaleida Health to pay 94 percent of the award.
While setting aside the trial verdict Thursday with respect to damages, Drury in his decision also found that the award was too low. He increased it to nearly $18.4 million, according to a Kaleida Health official.
A story Friday in The Buffalo News stated the increased award was $19.5 million.
Attorneys for Oakes, 52, contended that doctors at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital failed to diagnose what they called “classic symptoms” of a leaking brain aneurysm that led to the stroke
Among other issues, Drury found that the jury’s award of $1 million each for past and future pain and suffering to Oakes and his family “deviates materially from what would be fair compensation.” He increased the award to $5 million each.
In a post-trial decision, Drury also denied Kaleida’s contention that he improperly sided with Oakes in the 13- week trial.
Kaleida Health spokesman Michael Hughes said the decision does not mean Kaleida Health has been ordered to pay the increased award. Instead, he said the judge increased the first trial award because he found it deficient but also ordered a new trial to determine a new award for damages.
The case has not affected financial operations at the hospital, Hughes said.
