DENVER—A man who sued Denver’s Veterans Affairs Hospital over a surgical clamp left inside his chest has been awarded $130,000 in damages.
U.S. District Judge Wiley Y. Daniel issued his ruling Thursday after hearing three days of testimony.
The lawyer for 61-year-old Army veteran Richard Kellar of Aurora says he’s disappointed.
He originally sought $15 million in damages but cut that in half during the trial in hopes of reaching a settlement. Before trial, the government offered to settle for $100,000.
The clamp was left in Kellar’s chest during triple-bypass surgery but he didn’t find out until he got an MRI the following year.
Doctors say it’s too risky to remove it and that it’s not harming him. Kellar says he’s had health problems.
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Information from: The Denver Post,
