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Jury Awards Family $10 Million After Misdiagnoses Lead To Mother's Death POSTED: 3:21 pm EDT April 11, 2006 UPDATED: 7:17 pm EDT April 11, 2006 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A jury awarded a Jacksonville family $10 million in a malpractice suit against a local doctor on Monday, agreeing with a grieving husband who said his wife's death could have and should have been prevented. Janet Craig Janet Craig was 40 years old when she died after being misdiagnosed with the flu and sent home. Craig's husband called her his soul mate. He said his wife and mother of his two children was his best friend before her death three years ago. In 2003, Janet Craig was misdiagnosed by local physician Clifford Arn. Arn told her she had the flu, when in actuality she was suffering from a bacterial infection caused by a disease called Neutropenia. "That would mean you are more prone to get infections and you would not be able to fight them very well," said internal medicine doctor Hussain Imam. Imam never met Craig, but he has met other neutropenics. He said Neutropenia is common, but not commonly overlooked. "You have to be more careful if someone is neutropenic, to be more cautions in treating their ailments," Imam said. That was why Craig's husband decided to sue. He said his wife's doctor knew she was neutropenic, but instead of giving her antibiotics he sent her home and told her she had the flu. Janet Craig's husband said his wife had been his best friend. "Her death was completely preventable," said Craig's husband's attorney Rodney Margol. Margol took Craig's case to trial last week. "This was a tough one given what's been lost here, and given the kind of woman she was and the kind of relationship she had with her husband and children," Margol said. On Monday a jury awarded Craig's family $10 million, saying they believed the doctor was negligent. Craig's husband said he's satisfied with the decision, but nothing will bring his wife back. The defense said they would appeal the jury's decision and told Channel 4, "Dr. Arn feels sorry about what happened to Mrs. Craig, but he feels the care he provided did not cause her tragic death."
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