A 26-year-old woman was expecting to receive a kidney from her brother, the ideal donor match, but did not get the transplant after the organ was accidentally thrown in the trash by a nurse at a Toledo hospital. While the woman did eventually receive a new kidney, the organ was not as suitable as the kidney from her brother would have been. As a result, the transplant is not predicted to last as long, and it may also be more difficult for her to find another transplant after the current one fails. Because the plaintiffs had operations performed at a public hospital, an economic cap was placed on the damages they could receive for medical malpractice. The Ohio hospital settled for $650,000.
Sources:
1. http://www.colleyshroyerabraham.com/blog/2014/06/nurse-loses-kidney-ohio-hospital-agrees-to-650000-settlement.shtml
2. http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/4545196