A Georgia woman who suffered devastating injuries after her skin “melted off” from a medication error has lost her final appeal in a decade-long legal battle, leaving her with only a fraction of her $40 million jury award. Khaliah Shaw’s case has drawn national attention as an example of how state laws can limit patient recoveries in medical malpractice cases.
In 2013, Shaw was prescribed lamotrigine, a mood-stabilizing drug, at a Georgia clinic to treat her depression. The medication carries strict warnings about dangerous skin reactions if the dosage is increased too quickly, but Shaw’s dose was escalated faster than recommended. Within weeks, she developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis, severe conditions that caused her skin to blister and peel off her body.
