An Aiken County jury returned a $13.75 million verdict Wednesday against Aiken Regional Medical Centers in a case in which a woman lost both legs above the knee, her left arm below the elbow and the tips of her fingers on her right hand.

The jury found the hospital was “grossly negligent or reckless, willful or wanton in its acts or omissions” in the case of Seletha Gartrell, a 54-year-old Aiken woman who went to the hospital with the flu on Dec. 6, 2012..

Gartell was then working full time, was active in her community and church, and was the primary caretaker for several family members, according to a statement from the law firm that represented her, McGowan, Hood & Felder, of Columbia.

The hospital issued a statement Thursday that said: “The patient entered our facility with two life-threatening conditions, one of which caused her to have cardiac arrest. We strongly disagree with the jury’s decision. Our nursing staff and physicians gave her the best of care that saved her life.”

A hospital spokesman said she did not know whether the hospital would appeal.

The jury awarded Gartrell $10 million in economic damages for the income she will lose by not being able to work and the expense of lifelong care. It further awarded $3.75 million for the loss of her quality of life, said John Felder, of McGowan, Hood & Felder.

“She can no longer drive, she’s disfigured and she’ll be on pain management for the rest of her life,” Felder said. “And some of that pain they can’t make go away.”

When Gartrell went to the hospital, she had signs of sepsis, bacteria in the bloodstream, according to her law firm’s statement. Eventually, she went into septic shock and heart failure, according to the lawsuit.

“During her course of care at Aiken she was administered several drugs, including two vasopressors (Levophed and Vasopressin),” which cause blood vessels to contract and “can reduce the flow of blood to a patient’s limbs,” according to the law firm’s statement. “After a week in the ICU at Aiken, Mrs. Gartrell was transported by air to (the Medical University of South Carolina) for further treatment. At MUSC the decision was made to amputate three of her limbs as well as the tips of the fingers on her other hand.”

The lawsuit alleged that nurses at Aiken Regional, particularly those working the night shifts of Dec. 7 and 8, did not follow the doctors’ orders for administering the vasopressor drugs, did not administer the drugs in the proper amounts and doses and did not follow hospital policy and procedure by “failing to notify the treating doctor of critical things occurring with their patient,” according to the law firm’s statement.

“The injuries caused at the hospital have devastated Mrs. Gartrell and her family. Hopefully, this verdict will force the hospital to take a close look at how certain things are done and monitored in their Emergency Room and ICU units,” Felder said.

Reach James Folker at (706) 823-3338 or [email protected].