NEW YORK, Nov 28 — A man in New Mexico has won US$412 million (RM1.8 billion) in his malpractice suit against a medical firm in his state over unnecessary erectile dysfunction treatments that he alleged severely damaged his penis.

According to The Olympian news site, a jury awarded US$37 million in compensatory damages and US$375 million in punitive damages on November 25 in Bernalillo County, including Albuquerque.

The man’s attorneys believe the award may be the largest medical malpractice settlement in history, with the total expected to exceed US$550 million with interest.

According to the man’s legal team, corporate fraud and greed caused irreversible harm to the 72-year-old, whose life and body were profoundly impacted.

"(The man) is now impotent and unable to have an erection, cannot urinate standing up, and has irreversible fibrosis of the penis or scar tissue where living cells used to be.

"His impotence is permanent and the damage is completely irreversible,” the lawyers said.

The lawsuit targets NuMale, a national company with a location in Albuquerque, and several individuals involved with the clinic.

NuMale’s president, Brad Palubicki, said the company is committed to patient care but declined to comment on the case due to ongoing legal proceedings.

The man sought care at NuMale’s Albuquerque clinic in 2017 for testosterone therapy and weight loss but was misdiagnosed with erectile dysfunction and sold an expensive treatment program.

The treatment, which included injections in his penis and testosterone pellet implantation, led to a series of complications, leaving him permanently impotent and with irreversible scarring.