DETROIT – Nearly $40 million was awarded Tuesday in the case of a 26-year-old woman who died from a pulmonary embolism in 2013 after being sent home by doctors who told her she had a virus.
Terrea Holly was sent home by doctors at Detroit Medical Center.
Attorney Geoffrey Fieger said even though the family won the lawsuit against the DMC, they won't see the $40 million because of a Michigan law. But family members said it wasn't about the money. They wanted justice for Holly, who they described as a bright college student who loved to help others.
"Nothing is ever the same," said Dushon Watkins, Holly's mother. "You don't get over it. You just learn to cope with it."
Watkins still mourns the death of her daughter.
"It was heartbreaking," Watkins said.
Fieger said Holly showed clear signs of a pulmonary embolism when she went to the DMC for treatment.
"DMC advertises itself as the clot busters," Fieger said. "It says, 'Are you short of breath? Do you have rapid breath? Come to us immediately.' That is literally the quote of their advertisements."
Doctors told Holly she had a virus before the embolism worsened and she passed away the next day. During the trial, Fieger said the defense argued that because she was African American, the DMC couldn't adequately test the level of oxygen in her blood.
"That defense, I think, enraged the jury," Fieger said.
The jury ruled in favor of the family, but Fieger said Michigan has laws that cap the economic damages.
"This family will never collect anywhere near $40 million," Fieger said.
Regardless, Fieger and the family said there was more to the case than money.
"She was a human being and she deserved respect, and now she's finally been served with justice," Watkins said.