A man who lost a leg to the disease and is suing the city for $1 million has won an undisclosed amount in damages.
Kermit C. Williams, a 43-year-old New York city man, is suing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York Police Department, the city’s fire department, the New York Department of Health, and several medical professionals who were working to get him a prosthetic leg, The New York Post reported.
Williams lost his leg to a bone marrow infection in 2009, and was told that he could not return to work because of the condition.
He was diagnosed with meningitis in 2013 and then meningococcal meningism in 2017, according to a statement from Williams’ attorney, Paul J. Pizzolato.
Williams and his wife had to move to New York in 2018, and have since had to relocate again to get back on their feet, because of his health issues.
He lost his right leg in the winter of 2018 and has had to wear a prosthesis for about six months.
He was initially able to return to the job in 2019 after doctors prescribed a drug to help him breathe and regain his ability to walk, but he was diagnosed in 2019 with meneditis, the Post said.
In 2017, a lawsuit was filed in New York Superior Court alleging that the city had failed to make any medical and safety decisions about the prosthetic, which is designed to replace the lost limb, as required by state law.
The suit, which was filed by Williams’ wife, Sarah Buehl, said that “despite the fact that there is a history of meningococcosis, there was no serious safety concern as a result of the prosthesis being fitted to Mr. Williams,” according to the Post.
Williams said in the lawsuit that his suit was “an attempt to vindicate my dignity and to protect my rights to due process and equal protection.”
The lawsuit, which asks for the maximum amount for damages, asks that the suit be dismissed “in the absence of evidence showing that there was a lack of medical and scientific supervision, negligence, or any other wrongdoing by New York.”
Williams was diagnosed last October with menagea meningovirus, a coronavirus that can cause pneumonia, pneumonia-like symptoms, and severe pain and swelling.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that more than 17,000 Americans have meningomyosarcoma, a rare and often fatal illness caused by a virus similar to meningitosis, which causes bone marrow cancer.
