Penis Amputation Negligence Suit Deemed Baseless
A lawsuit alleges that an Albuquerque law firm improperly filed a penis amputation lawsuit claiming that a nursing home patient lost his penis due to facility negligence. According to the lawsuit filed by the nursing home, the law firm did not investigate the claim and wrongfully filed a federal lawsuit in September. Not sure how they could have missed that. It seems like it would have been easy enough to... look into.
The law firm failed to properly investigate its claim that a nursing home patient, James Tracy, lost his penis because of the facility's negligence, according to a personal injury lawsuit filed by the facility.
In light of a lawsuit they deemed as "malicious," THI of New Mexico at Valle Norte sued the Harvey Law Firm for malicious abuse of process and civil conspiracy. The non-existent penis amputation incident stems from a July 2007 case for a client, James Tracy. According to THI, the original suit was filed "without any medical evidence to show that Mr. Tracy suffered an amputation ... or that Valle Norte's conduct had caused even a remote causal link to any penile injury."
The nursing home says that attorneys Dusti Harvey and Feliz Rael failed to investigate the case before filing suit on behalf of Tracy, who has since passed away. According to their personal injury lawsuit, despite claims by the Harvey law firm that Tracy lost his penis, that didn't happen, and they have photos of prove it.
The Harvey law firm later withdrew and the lawsuit was dismissed. However Jack Brant, attorney for the Harvey firm remains adamant that the case was legitimate, calling the case "a viable claim for personal injury." He argued that the nursing home was negligent because it did not take Tracy's medical condition seriously and the patient didn't receive appropriate medical attention. "Mr. Tracy was in Valle Norte's care. He developed this condition, priapism; Valle Norte failed to treat it properly and as a result he suffered serious injury," Brant said.
Related Resources:
- Lawsuit: Law firm wrong on penis amputation claim (AP)
- Personal Injury (FindLaw)
- Accident and Injury Center (FindLaw)
