A man in New Mexico has been awarded the biggest medical payout in history after doctors ‘irreversibly’ damaged his penis.
The patient, who has not been named, was conned into having unnecessary injections into his genitals by a clinic that preyed on elderly men.
He can no longer get an erection and must sit down to urinate because his penis has become enveloped in thick scar tissue.
The victim, who was 66 at the time, had visited NuMale Medical Center in Albuquerque in 2017 seeking treatment for fatigue and weight loss.
According to a lawsuit filed in 2020, the man was coaxed into getting ‘invasive erectile dysfunction shots’ to his penis multiple times per week.
The lawsuit claims the injections caused permanent damage to the man’s penis.
Lawyers representing the plaintiff said: ‘His impotence is permanent and the damage is completely irreversible.’
This week, after a four-year legal battle, the now 72-year-old was awarded $412million in damages, the largest medical malpractice payout from a jury in US history.
An unnamed man in New Mexico was awarded over $400million after suffering impotence, penile scarring, and inability urinate while standing up after receiving erectile dysfunction injections (stock image)
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The second biggest was in 2006, when former basketball player Allan Navarro was awarded $216.7million after doctors in Florida misdiagnosed his stroke as a headache, leaving him with brain damage.
Lori Bencoe, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiff, said: ‘It’s a national record-setting case and it’s righteous because I don’t think there’s any place for licensed professionals to be defrauding patients for money. That is a very egregious breach of their fiduciary duty.
‘That’s breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that.’
Nick Rowley, another attorney representing the man, said on Instagram that the man was sent home with a ‘dangerous chemical’ injected into his penis and was not given an antidote.
It’s unclear which chemicals were used in the injections.
The award follows a trial that took place last month based on the lawsuit filed on behalf of the man in 2020. NuMale did not admit wrongdoing and did not comment on the findings.
Mr Rowley said patients were told that they had to have at least three shots per week or they would suffer irreversible harm.
Brad Palubicki, NuMale Medical Center President, told the Associated Press that the company’s focus is on continuing to deliver responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance standards at all of its facilities.
He said: ‘While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on specific details of the case at this time.’
NuMale Medical Center (pictured here), the clinic that administered the injections, did not comment on the findings of the case
NuMale also has clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
Its Albuquerque clinic specializes in erectile dysfunction and testosterone replacement, as well as weight loss and hair replacement, according to the website.
The company was launched in 2013 and claims to treat over 100,000 patients.
The Albuquerque clinic has an average of 4.4 stars out of 54 Google reviews.
Erectile dysfunction injections are meant to relax muscles in the penis and open up blood vessels, leading to increased blood flow and erections. They typically work within five to 15 minutes.
Erectile dysfunction affects about 30million men in the US, the majority of whom are over 65.
