St. Petersburg Times
By BILL COATS
Published May 4, 2006
Lawrence Grey, who specialized in vasectomy reversals, had been ordered to pay a former patient $1-million
TAMPA, Fla. A Florida urologist killed himself a few hours after a jury awarded a former patient $1 million in a malpractice claim.
Dr. Lawrence Grey’s wife found him dead, the St. Petersburg Times reported. He had hanged himself in a bedroom closet in their home in Tampa.
Grey specialized in reversing vasectomies, using equipment he said he had designed himself. In the lawsuit, a man who went through the surgery in 2002 claimed that Grey had left two pieces of gauze in his scrotum, something the doctor said was impossible.
Timothy Moran, a Jacksonville lawyer who represented the plaintiff, blamed Grey’s insurance company for not settling the case. He said he had made two settlement offers, one for $250,000 — the limit under Grey’s insurance coverage — and one for $175,000. The verdict makes Grey’s business liable for $750,000.
While Moran described Grey as “upbeat” and “very cordial” during the trial, his wife said the verdict upset him badly. Police said they found anti-depressants and an anti-anxiety drug in his home.