Sandoval Co. man awarded $412 million medical malpractice payout for botched injections

ALBUQUERQUE — A jury late last month awarded a Sandoval County man more than $412 million in a medical malpractice case that involved a men’s health clinic that operates in several states, including New Mexico.

The man’s attorneys celebrated Monday’s verdict, saying they are hopeful it will prevent other men from falling victim to a scheme that involved fraud and what they described as dangerous penile injections.

They said the jury award for punitive and compensatory damages is likely the largest in history for a medical malpractice case in the U.S.

“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, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiff.

“That’s breach of trust and anytime someone is wearing a white coat, they shouldn’t be allowed to do that,” Bencoe said.

The award follows a weeklong trial in 2nd Judicial District Court in Albuquerque that centered on allegations outlined in a lawsuit filed by the man’s attorneys in 2020.

Jurors on Monday awarded Sanchez $37 million in compensatory damages and an additional $375 million in punitive damages against NuMale Albuquerque LLC, organized in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and two other corporate entities.

The judgment also identified two physicians, Christopher Asandra and Carlos Feliciano, a physician assistant and another clinic employee who acted together, according to the verdict.

Michael Sanchez was 66 when he visited the clinic in the 7900 block of Wyoming NE in October 2017 in search of treatment for fatigue and weight loss, according to a 2020 lawsuit. The suit accused the clinic of misdiagnosing him and unnecessarily treating him with “invasive erectile dysfunction shots” that caused irreversible damage.

“This out of state medical corporation set up a fraudulent scheme to make millions off of conning old men by scaring them with a fake test,” Nick Rowley, another attorney representing Sanchez, wrote in a social media post that detailed the verdict.

Rowley went on to say that the scheme involved clinic workers telling patients they would have irreversible damage if they didn’t agree to injections three times a week.

NuMale Medical Center President Brad Palubicki said in a statement sent Wednesday to The Associated Press that the company’s focus is on continuing to deliver responsible patient care while maintaining strict safety and compliance standards at all of its facilities.

“While we respect the judicial process, due to ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot comment on specific details of the case at this time,” said Palubiki, who was among the defendants identified in the suit.

NuMale also has clinics in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

According to court records, jurors found that fraudulent and negligent conduct by the defendants resulted in damages to the plaintiff. They also found that unconscionable conduct by the defendants violated the Unfair Practices Act.

Journal staff writer Olivier Uyttebrouck contributed to this report.