Verdict: Surgeon to pay $15M to Ripa's sister

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A jury has ordered a Philadelphia surgeon to pay $15 million to the sister of television talk-show host Kelly Ripa for failing to properly repair her broken ankle.
Linda Ripa, 30, was an aspiring model and actress when she was nearly killed in a 1999 car accident that fractured her pelvis, sternum and ankle and endangered her eight-month pregnancy. She contended in her lawsuit that a surgeon who operated on the ankle three days after the crash rushed her into surgery unnecessarily without telling her of the risks, then improperly set her broken bones.