Closing arguments in just one of many medical malpractice cases against disgraced ear, nose and throat specialist Dr. Mark Weinberger occurred Friday after a jury found the doctor guilty of medical malpractice and handed down a nearly $300,000 verdict for former Weinberger patient, William Boyer, of Gary, Ind.

This is significantly more than the defense believed Boyer deserved in compensation for his "inconvenience and discomfort" caused by the doctor. The defense initially thought $25,000 was more than generous. Boyer's attorneys did not see the situation in the same light. The plaintiff sought more than $1 million in the case. The jury came to the judgment amount based on 12 times the defenses calculation for ongoing surgery and physical and emotional suffering.

This case is the first among 358 Weinberger lawsuits to go to trial. A majority of these cases involve allegations of unnecessary surgery and surgery that was not performed or that was performed poorly. At least 20 of these cases have already received opinions of medical malpractice from a three-doctor medical review panel, a required step in the state's medical malpractice process.

Weinberger's medical malpractice insurer will pay $250,000 of the verdict to Boyer, as well as the legal costs for both sides. The remaining $50,000 will be paid from the Indiana Patient Compensation Fund, a state-administered account to compensate victims of medical malpractice. A news report described that if all the other suits have similar verdicts to this one, the state of Indiana could be liable for nearly $90 million due to Dr. Weinberger's negligence.

Source: Post-Tribune "Plaintiff gets $300K in Weinberger trial" 08/28/2010