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Scott P. Schlesinger of Schlesinger Law Offices, Crane Johnstone of Johnstone Law and Peter J. Somera and Paul M. Silva of Somera & Silva.

J. Albert Diaz[/caption] A team of South Florida lawyers won a $15.9 million verdict for a young woman who needed parts of her fingers and toes amputated after a rheumatologist failed to get her the medication she needed during a hospital stay. Dr. Yvonne Sherrer was found solely liable for the Oct. 30 medical malpractice verdict, with co-defendant Holy Cross Hospital winning a finding of no fault. A judge ruled pretrial that Sherrer was an outside private consulting physician and thus not an agent of the hospital. The verdict wraps up a long legal saga for Stephanie Hollingsworth, who was 26 when she went into the hospital on Nov. 21, 2008, for pain in her hands and feet due to a flareup of the autoimmune disease lupus. She was admitted for vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels. But there was no room in the intensive care unit, so she was given a bed in the cardiac care unit, according to the lawsuit. A rheumatology consult was ordered, and Sherrer came in and put Hollingsworth on steroids, but not the immunosuppressant Cytoxan — the drug needed to treat the inflammation-causing complication and avoid irreversible damage, according to Hollingsworth's attorneys. "But instead, they do what doctors do ... They did a test, they did a test, they did another test," said Scott Schlesinger of the Schlesinger Law Offices in Fort Lauderdale, who joined the case after it was filed by Somera Silva attorneys Peter Somera and Paul Silva, who is also a physician. Crane Johnstone of Johnstone Law in Fort Lauderdale also represented Hollingsworth. Days passed. Hollingsworth had trouble controlling her feet, and a skin biopsy showed necrotizing vasculitis. A spot opened up in the ICU, but Hollingsworth wasn't moved, and she was not given Cytoxan until she was transferred to the University of Miami Hospital on Nov. 28. "She was at death's door by the time they transferred her out of Holy Cross," Schlesinger said. The drug alleviated Hollingsworth's pain, but her fingers and toes had turned black and shriveled from gangrene. Doctors had to amputate nine of her toes, part of her left foot, her right thumb and the tips of two fingers. She uses prosthetics and cannot walk or stand for more than half an hour, according to the Schlesinger firm. The hospital's attorneys, Thomas Heath and Aline Marcantonio of Nosich & Ganz in Fort Lauderdale, successfully argued any blame for what happened with Hollingsworth should fall squarely on the rheumatologist. Sherrer avoided administering Cytoxan because of the risk of infection, argued her attorney, John Mauro of Billing, Cochran, Lyles, Mauro & Ramsey in Fort Lauderdale. But plaintiffs counsel argued if an infection is preventable or treatable, doctors are supposed to give the medication. Defense counsel also argued the symptoms were not vasculitis but an irritation of the blood vessels stemming from a bone marrow issue; or alternatively, a sickle-cell anemia crisis. Schlesinger said his client did not have sickle-cell and called that defense "some Hail Mary horsesh**." "Their defense was the squid defense: Squirt ink in the water and cloud things up," Schlesinger said. "They said ‘complicated’ over and over. It’s not complicated. I said, 'That’s what [doctors] go to school for." The defense lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. The jury was out for two days and came back with the $15.9 million verdict, all against Sherrer: $10 million for pain and suffering, $5 million for medical expenses and $922,000 for lost earnings. Schlesinger said it's been a long road for Hollingsworth, who had been an "outgoing, bubbly, singing-in-the-shower” dancer who, despite struggling with what happened, earned two master's degrees and became a marketing coordinator at a performing arts center. "She broke down crying when the verdict was read," he said. "I felt for her. I feel for all of my clients, but for whatever reason, I just felt that this was a very deserving lady." Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy heard the case. Case: Stephanie Hollingsworth v. Holy Cross Hospital et al Case No.: CACE 11-002290 Description: Medical malpractice Filing date: Jan. 28, 2011 Verdict date: Oct. 30, 2017 Judge: Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy Plaintiffs attorneys: Scott Schlesinger, Schlesinger Law Offices, Fort Lauderdale; Crane Johnstone, Johnstone Law, Fort Lauderdale; Peter Somera and Paul Silva, Somera & Silva, Boca Raton Defense attorneys: Thomas Heath and Aline Marcantonio, Nosich & Ganz, Fort Lauderdale; John Mauro, Billing, Cochran, Lyles, Mauro & Ramsey, Fort Lauderdale Verdict amount: $15.9 million