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Jury awards woman $1.7 million in suit with Muncie hospital

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) – An Anderson woman who sued a Muncie hospital has been awarded more than $1.7 million in damages.

The Star Press reports a jury found in favor of Billie Jo Sayers on Monday in her lawsuit against IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. Witnesses said during the trial that she was given nine times the appropriate amount of an antibiotic to fight an abdominal infection.

Attorneys for Sayers said the overdose left her with severe inner-ear damage and permanent hearing and balance problems. The lawsuit was filed in 2010.

A judge granted a request from hospital attorneys to lower the judgment to $1.25 million, the maximum allowable under Indiana law.

A message seeking comment was left with a hospital spokesman.