A routine blood pressure check resulted in a man losing his hand at a hospital in Queens, according to reports.
Jose Polanco, 40, was admitted to Elmhurst Hospital after suffering a heart attack in 2016, according to the Daily News. There, he got pneumonia, which led to an infection. He was required to have a line in his right arm to constantly monitor his blood pressure.
“I could hear the doctors talking. Everyone was concerned looking at my arm. It got worse. The nurse said they probably punctured me in the wrong part,” Polanco told The Daily News.
Polanco developed gangrene, and he believes that the nurse must have inserted the needle in the wrong spot.
He said his whole hand and half his forearm were black, and he was treated for gangrene as an outpatient in December.
In May, his right arm was partially amputated.
Polanco says he is trying to learn to do everything with just his left hand, including taking care of his 3-year-old daughter.
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"I can't even carry her," Polanco said. "I haven't been able to see her that much, because of the whole situation."
Polanco was a parking attendant and says he's not working right now.
He is suing the hospital for $100 million and is being represented by Sanford Rubenstein.
"We cannot comment on a notice of claim that we haven't received yet," said a representative for the city’s Health and Hospitals Corporation.
