Wyoming Jury Awards $10.165 Million After Hospital Misses Vascular Crisis, Leading to Both-Leg Amputations

In June 2013, Darrell Menapace went to Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County in Rock Springs, Wyoming, with sudden numbness and cramping in his legs that left him unable to walk. The treating physician, Dr. Lin Miao, judged the condition chronic rather than an emergency and discharged him without resolving the underlying circulation problem. A nurse practitioner later set up a vascular consultation that was days away, but the delay proved catastrophic.

By the time the vascular problem was fully evaluated, Menapace had developed acute limb ischemia, sepsis, and acute renal failure. Surgeons were left with no viable option: both of his legs were amputated above the knee.

The Spence Law Firm, with attorneys Emily Rankin and Bryan Ulmer, represented Menapace in a suit against the hospital and Dr. Miao. Before trial, the case reached the Wyoming Supreme Court on whether the hospital, a governmental entity, could be held vicariously liable for the malpractice of Dr. Miao, an independent-contractor physician. In its 2017 ruling, the court held that the hospital was immune from vicarious liability for its independent contractors under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act. That decision narrowed the case against the hospital to its own conduct, leaving the claim that the hospital's nurses were directly negligent for the jury.

At trial, the jury heard evidence that the hospital's nurses failed to communicate and act on findings pointing to arterial blockages in Menapace's legs, focusing their care on his diabetes while the more urgent circulation problem went unaddressed. Jurors found Dr. Miao 50 percent at fault and Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County 40 percent at fault. They assigned 10 percent comparative negligence to Menapace himself.

The total verdict came to $10,165,000. Dr. Miao's portion of liability was resolved through a settlement reached before the verdict was returned. The hospital's share of the damages, reflecting its 40 percent apportionment, came to approximately $4,066,000. No remittitur or post-trial reduction of the hospital's share has been reported in available court records or press coverage.