Clark County jury awards $8.3M in medical malpractice case

A guardian of a local woman who suffered brain damage was recently awarded $8.3 million in a medical malpractice suit.

It is believed to be among the largest medical malpractice awards given by a Clark County jury, according to Clark County Clerk of Courts officials.

Shoshoni Portis, now 31, was treated by Dr. M. Husain Jawadi at Springfield Regional Medical Center in September 2010. The lawsuit alleged medical officials failed to properly monitor and manage her blood sugars and Portis suffered permanent brain and physical injuries, according to court documents.

Her attorney, Steve O’Keefe, said her blood sugar dropped to an extremely low level.

“Your brain requires two things: oxygen and blood sugar and hers didn’t get any blood sugar because her sugar had been so low. Everyone agrees that her blood should have been checked, the question is why wasn’t it,” O’Keefe said.

The jury found Jawadi and Springfield Endocrinology & Internal Medicine at fault. Springfield Regional, a medical center doctor and nurse were dismissed from the case.

Springfield News-Sun’s repeated attempts to reach Jawadi were unsuccessful. His attorney, Patrick Adkinson didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

The award to Portis’ guardian came after a seven-day jury trial that ended Tuesday.

O’Keefe said he was pleased by the verdict.

“She is permanently brain damaged as a result of this. She’ll never be able to work or live independently and she required 24-hours a day care probably for the next 30 years,” O’Keefe said. “It’s a sad situation.”

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