Mercy Hospital in Portland and one of its physicians have been ordered to pay $6.5 million to the family of a Maine man who died as a result of a negligent misdiagnosis.
According to CBS 13 news, 25-year-old Peter Smith visited Dr. John Henson at Mercy multiple times in June of 2021. Attorneys for his family say Smith was experiencing a rash, fever, chills, dizziness and headaches.
He was diagnosed with something other than Lyme disease, which he was later correctly diagnosed with by a different team of physicians. That was after Smith became so ill that he had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. He was also diagnosed with Lyme carditis and died about a week later, according to attorneys.
A Cumberland County jury reached their verdict in the case on Wednesday.
In a statement, the hospital said extended its sympathy to Smith’s family, and is evaluating the next steps following the verdict.
