After talking to a neurosurgeon about her history of migraine headaches, Robyn Frankel was told to undergo an invasive cerebral angiogram requiring the injection of contrast dye into a vein in an attempt to try to find what was causing her headaches.  When the dye was injected, Robyn immediately suffered a stroke and went into a coma.

She regained consciousness six weeks later, but she was unable to speak or move for months.  Robyn was still unable to use her right side and has only limited use of her left side, requiring around-the-clock care.  She was unable to return to her career or participate in the activities of her two young children.  Robyn had not been told the procedure would be invasive, nor was she informed of the potential risks.  And the procedure wasn’t necessary in the first place, as it would not have found anything that had not already been seen in the non-invasive procedures Robyn had gone through.

After hearing evidence presented by both sides, the jury awarded her $6 million for her suffering and for the loss of her quality or life, but under MICRA’s one-size-fits-all cap that makes no allowance for the degree of harm, that amount was reduced to just $250,000.

Sadly, Robyn passed away in late 2013 from the injuries she suffered because of medical negligence.