Willie Ramirez's $71 Million Word

In 1980, 18-year-old Willie Ramirez collapsed and was rushed to a South Florida hospital in a comatose state. His Spanish-speaking family repeatedly told staff he was "intoxicado," which in Cuban Spanish often means suffering from something he ate (i.e., poisoned), but the attending doctors assumed they meant "intoxicated" (i.e., drug or alcohol overdose). Consequently, they treated him for overdose while a brain hemorrhage went undetected. Eventually, Ramirez became quadriplegic and won a $71 million settlement.

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