Jury Awards $1 Million in Fatal Surgery
A Van Nuys Superior Court jury Wednesday awarded just over $1 million to the widow and three children of a Chatsworth man who died after surgeons accidentally cut a major vein and failed to fix it during what was to have been routine back surgery.
Because of a previous settlement and a state law, however, the family will collect $435,000.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. June 1, 1990 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Friday June 1, 1990 Valley Edition Metro Part B Page 4 Column 2 Zones Desk 2 inches; 56 words Type of Material: Correction
Malpractice verdict--An article on May 17 incorrectly said Dr. Randolph H. Noble of Encino had been ordered to pay part of a jury award of more than $1 million in a malpractice case. The jury found Noble 30% responsible for the death of a patient following surgery at Rancho Encino Hospital, but he had been dropped from the case in a pretrial settlement. No damages were assessed against him by the jury.
Richard Mark Levinson, a 32-year-old painting company foreman, died of a pulmonary embolism in February, 1987, 26 hours after undergoing surgery at Rancho Encino Hospital.
The Superior Court lawsuit filed on behalf of Levinson’s widow, Debra Kay, 35, and three children, named the hospital, three doctors and the anesthesiologist as defendants, charging wrongful death caused by medical malpractice.
The jury assessed general damages of $632,700 against two surgeons--Drs. Jerome Friedland of Reseda and Gerald Paul of Encino--and against Dr. Randolph H. Noble of Encino, the internist the family’s suit said failed to detect the opened vein. The jury also assessed economic damages--the dead man’s estimated future earnings of $395,258--against the three.
The Levinsons’ attorney, John A. Girardi, said Richard Mark Levinson went to Friedland in January, 1987, for treatment of a ruptured disk.
A month later, Friedland and Paul performed surgery, during which Levinson’s vena cava was accidentally cut, Girardi said.
Levinson’s blood pressure dropped precipitously and Noble was called in but failed to diagnose the cause, Girardi said.
Superior Court Judge Robert M. Letteau said the jury found Friedland liable for 50% of the damages on the grounds that regardless of who cut the vein, Friedland should have diagnosed the problem.
Paul was found liable for 20% and Noble for 30%, Letteau said. The jury found no responsibility on the part of the hospital or the anesthesiologist, Dr. Lois Chan.
More to Read
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.