A record was also set in 2022 in the state of Georgia with a $77 million award for wrongful death. In this case, the victim, Nicholas Carusillo, was a resident at a psychiatric facility having suffered from bipolar disorder and substance addiction. Mr. Carusillo’s family alleged that a series of errors by the Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences, Inc. staff ultimately led to the victim’s death. Specifically, Mr. Carusillo’s medication was stopped while an inpatient there, which caused his condition to deteriorate; he was discharged from the facility against his will because he had a cell phone in violation of their policy; and the facility failed to warn the sober living house to which he was discharged about his mental health problems. A few days after his discharge, Mr. Carusillo suffered a psychotic episode and was fatally injured when hit by multiple cars while lying naked in a fetal position on the interstate.
This case also involved bad faith and misconduct by the defendants who created and backdated records in the days after Mr. Carusillo’s death to make them look as if they had been written when he was a patient at the facility. In view of the egregious facts, the jury awarded $10 million for Mr. Carusillo’s pain and suffering, $55 million for the value of his life, and $1 million in punitive damages.
The Carusillo family told reporters something that we hear almost every day from our clients:
The need for, and right to, answers is often the single biggest motivation for pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
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