ALBUQUERQUE, NM – A jury in New Mexico has awarded a man more than $412 million in a medical malpractice case involving a men’s health clinic operating in several states.
The man’s lawyers celebrated Monday’s ruling, saying they hoped it would prevent other men from falling victim to a scheme that involved fraud and what they called dangerous penile injections. The punitive and compensatory damages are the largest ever awarded by a jury in a medical malpractice case in the United States, he said.
“This is a national record-setting case and rightly so because I don’t think there is any place for licensed professionals to cheat patients out of money,” said Lori Benko, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs. said that this is a very serious breach of his fiduciary duty “It is a breach of trust and whenever someone is wearing a white coat, he should not be allowed to do so.”
The award follows a trial held in Albuquerque earlier this month centered on allegations outlined in a 2020 lawsuit filed by the man’s attorneys. NuMale Medical Center and company officials were named as defendants.
According to the complaint, the man was 66 years old when he visited the clinic in 2017 seeking treatment for fatigue and weight loss. The clinic is accused of misdiagnosing him and unnecessarily treating him with “invasive erectile dysfunction shots” that caused irreversible damage.
Nick Rowley, another attorney who was part of the plaintiffs’ team, said the out-of-state medical corporation set up a fraudulent scheme to make millions by defrauding the elderly. He provided some details in a social media post, saying that clinic workers told patients that if they did not agree to injections three times a week, they would suffer irreparable harm.
NuMale Medical Center President Brad Palubaki said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday that the company is focused on providing responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance standards at all of its facilities.
“While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on the specific details of the case at this time,” he said.
NuMale also has clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
According to court records, jurors found that the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the defendants’ fraudulent and negligent conduct. They also found that the defendants’ irresponsible conduct violated the Unfair Practices Act.