An elderly New Mexico man has been awarded $412 million after a men's health clinic treated his erectile dysfunction with "invasive penile shots" that caused irreversible damage.
In 2017, the then-66-year-old man visited NuMale Medical Center, a men's health clinic, complaining of symptoms including fatigue and weight loss. The clinic diagnosed him with erectile dysfunction, and began treatment through "invasive erectile dysfunction shots", reported WTOP.
The clinic was accused of utilizing a "fraudulent scheme to make millions off of conning old men" by one of the plaintiff's attorneys, Nick Rowley. Rowley posted to social media, sharing that the clinic told patients the only way to alleviate their symptoms was agreeing to the shots thrice a week, and that forgoing the injections would cause irreversible damage.
"It's a national record setting case and it's righteous because I don't think there's any place for licensed professionals to be defrauding patients for money. That is a very egregious breach of their fiduciary duty," said Lori Bencoe, another lawyer representing the plaintiff. "That's breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn't be allowed to do that."
NuMale Medical Center President Brad Palubicki said that his company was focusing on providing safe and responsible care to patients in a statement provided to the Associated Press on Wednesday.
"While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on specific details of the case at this time," he said.
NuMale clinics also operate in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
