Bridgeport man wins $4.2M in malpractice suit

BRIDGEPORT — A Superior Court jury has awarded more than $4 million to a local couple who claimed malpractice by a surgeon left one of them permanently paralyzed.

The six-member jury deliberated about eight hours before ordering Dr. Steven Hirshorn, of Bridgeport, on Friday to pay $3.2 million to 59-year-old Eric Thomas and another $1 million to Thomas’ wife, Brenda Thomas.

“In a situation like this, it is difficult to say that anyone has won,” said Jeffrey Cooper, who represented Thomas and his wife. “But the jury’s verdict is nonetheless a strong acknowledgement of the gravity of the harm that was suffered by my clients in this case.”

According to the lawsuit, in September 2015, Thomas was admitted to St. Vincent’s Medical Center for a minor surgical procedure to remove a skin lesion.

During the surgery, the suit states that Hirshorn advised Thomas to go off his anti-coagulation therapy that he had been taking for another condition resulting in Thomas suffering a severe embolic stroke during the operation.

“Dr. Hirshorn violated the standard of care by failing to consult Mr. Thomas’s prescribing physician in advance of the surgery, and the failure to do so was a substantial contributing factor to the stroke and corresponding stroke deficits,” Cooper said.

Thomas, the father of five children, was left with permanent stroke side effects including partial leftsided paralysis, speech and memory problems and epilepsy, the lawsuit states.

Hirshorn has since closed his offices and could not be reached for comment.

His lawyer was unavailable for comment.