Medical malpractice recently cost a Woodbridge, VA woman her leg. The 57-year old Prince William County woman checked into the hospital for routine knee replacement surgery. In preparing the femur, the surgeon drilled all of the way through the back of the bone and severed her artery. Attempts to repair the artery were unsuccessful and the woman’s leg had to be amputated. The defense argued that the injury was simply a known risk of the procedure. HSFM partner Gary Brooks Mims successfully argued that the surgeon used excessive force when drilling and that his negligence violated the standard of care. The case settled for $1.275 million, which will enable the woman to modify her home and to acquire necessary mobility aids to accommodate her life without her leg.