A New York woman who was the victim of medical malpractice in 1993 was awarded nearly $4 million by a jury last November. Ann Bove was a nurse at Stony Brook University Hospital when intense knee pain led her to see an orthopedist. The doctor diagnosed Bove with chondromalacia, a condition characterized by abnormal cartilage softness in the kneecap.

Six months later doctors discovered that Bove actually suffered from reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a type of neuropathic pain that disrupts nerve signals and renders joints nearly useless. Bove contended that her first doctor misdiagnosed her condition and that the arthroscopic surgery she had undergone was unnecessary. She also claimed that the chance of recovering from reflex sympathetic dystrophy was minimal due to the delay in treatment.