A jury last week awarded a Stamford man's estate $5.5 million following a brief trial that stemmed from a medical malpractice lawsuit filed in March 2020.
According to the lawsuit, Felix Mejia, 69, went to the Stamford Hospital Emergency Room on Sept. 18, 2018, complaining of diarrhea and abdominal cramping.
Mejia underwent several tests, and was diagnosed with "traveler's diarrhea," the lawsuit claimed.
He returned to the hospital again with the same symptoms on Sept. 22, and a CT scan showed Mejia's superior mesenteric artery (SMA), which provides blood flow to small intestines, and his celiac artery, appeared "stenotic," or narrowed, the lawsuit claimed.
Mejia was discharged but returned to the hospital late on Sept. 24 with a chief complaint of vomiting, diarrhea, and persistent abdominal pain, and he was admitted for further evaluation on Sept. 25, according to the lawsuit.