Woman wins $1.7M judgment against hospital

MUNCIE – A Delaware Circuit Court 3 jury on Monday awarded an Anderson woman more than $1.7 million in damages in a her lawsuit against IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

During testimony in the trial — which began last Wednesday — witnesses said Billie Jo Sayers had been given nine times the appropriate amount of Gentamicin — an antibiotic being used to treat an abdominal infection.

The overdose resulted in severe inner-ear damage, Sayers' attorneys said, leaving their client with permanent hearing and balance problems.

The jury on Monday afternoon awarded Sayers — who filed her lawsuit in 2010 — $1,776,110 in damages.

Judge Linda Ralu Wolf granted a motion by the hospital's attorneys to reduce the judgment to the maximum amount allowed under state law, $1.25 million, with another $67,500 deducted as a legal "set-off."

"Our client's balance system was destroyed according to expert medical testimony, and she will have to live with balance issues the rest of her life," one of Sayers' lawyers, David Cutshaw said in a prepared statement. "We are pleased the jury returned this verdict as our client will need care for this injury for the rest of her life."

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter @DouglasWalkerSP.