, according to the New York Post and other news outlets.
In November 2014, New York Giants running back Michael Cox sustained severe lower-body injuries, including a broken leg and a damaged left ankle, after he was tackled in a game against the Seattle Seahawks. At the time, Cox was in the second year of a 4-year, $2.3 million contract with the Giants.
Later, he underwent treatment at New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the oldest orthopedic hospital in the United States, which is consistently ranked among the best. Mr. Cox’s surgeon for the procedure was Dean Lorich, MD, then associate director of HSS’s orthopedic trauma service and chief of the same service at New York–Presbyterian Hospital, also located in New York City.
But here the story takes a grim turn.
Dr. Lorich’s surgery allegedly failed to fully repair Mr. Cox’s left ankle, which led to the player’s early retirement. In May 2016, Mr. Cox sued Dr. Lorich, HSS, and the New York–Presbyterian Healthcare System for unspecified damages. (Mr. Cox’s attorney at the time reportedly claimed that Dr. Lorich hadn’t properly treated the talus bone in the player’s ankle.) Roughly a year and a half later, in December 2017, police found Dr. Lorich unconscious and unresponsive in his Park Avenue apartment, a knife protruding from his torso. The medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide, though there was no indication of why the surgeon took his own life.
The malpractice suit against Dr. Lorich’s estate and the hospitals continued.
Last month, on September 23, a New York County Supreme Court jury reached its decision. It awarded the ex-NFL player $12 million in lost earnings, $15.5 million for future pain and suffering, and $1 million for past pain and suffering.
“The jury spoke with a clear and unambiguous voice that Mr. Cox received inadequate medical care and treatment and was significantly injured as a result,” announced Jordan Merson, Mr. Cox’s attorney. “We are pleased with the jury’s decision.”
But an attorney for the hospital and the Lorich estate has called the jury verdict “inconsistent with the evidence in the case.” The defendants will appeal the verdict, he says.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.
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