When Elizabeth Nelligan visited her primary physician’s house for dinner in 2005, she got more than she wanted. Her mother was dating the doctor, Mark Radzicki, at the time, and this was a social visit. However, Radzicki who was allegedly drunk, staggered and stepped onto Nelligan’s foot, and then fell on her. Nelligan’s foot was beneath her when both she and the doctor fell. X-rays the following day didn’t show anything was wrong with her foot, but follow=up X-rays showed a fracture was healing. Nelligan’s injury then developed into Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).
RSD is a chronic neurological disorder whose symptoms include tissue swelling, sensitivity to touch, and burning pain. Since the accident, Nelligan has suffered almost constant pain, dropped out of college, and gave up her plans on becoming a doctor because she feels the demands would make the pain impossible to manage. She was told that she could spend the rest of her life in this kind of pain. There was also a spinal stimulator implanted in her spine to help Nelligan deal with the pain. As a result, Nelligan, now 24 years old and taking pain medication and anti-depressants, sued Radzicki for negligence.
A Hampden (Massachusetts) Superior Court jury awarded Nelligan $5 million and another $1 million in interest on Monday.
If you have been seriously, and perhaps permanently, injured as the result of another party’s negligence, please contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in your area.
