A Missouri family hopes a nearly $3 million jury award in a medical malpractice case against a Kansas doctor and pain clinic will raise awareness of the risks and possible complications from pain injections. Joel Burnette was 40 when he took his own life in Feburary 2013. His parents claim serious spinal injuries caused by a careless doctor at PainCARE in Overland Park, Kan., led to his suicide. Last month a Johnson County, Kan., jury awarded Vernon and Gail Burnette of Gladstone, Mo., $2.88 million, the biggest malpractice award in that county in more than a quarter century, The Kansas City Star reported. But Kansas law caps non-economic damages at $250,000, meaning the award can't be higher than about $1.67 million.
