Suit Against Doctor Settled for Nearly $4 Million

A Fountain Valley man who sued his doctor after suffering blindness and brain damage from complications that arose during minor ankle surgery agreed Thursday to a settlement of nearly $4 million.

John Chavez, 30, who had won a jury award of about the same amount last December, reached the settlement with Dr. Donald Altig of Humana Hospital-Huntington Beach as the case was being reviewed by a state appellate court, said Chavez’s attorney, Wylie A. Aitken.

Chavez, a former lifeguard and athlete, had broken his ankle in the summer of 1984. Several months later, he went to the hospital for an operation to remove orthopedic pins that had helped his ankle heal.

But what was supposed to be routine surgery on Oct. 24, 1984, turned into a medical nightmare when Chavez went into cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma that lasted 3 1/2 weeks, Aitken said.

During a six-week trial, Aitken contended that Altig, who administered the general anesthetic for the operation, was negligent. Altig failed to “adequately oxygenate and ventilate” Chavez--a failure that left him permanently blind and mentally disabled, Aitken charged.

Altig’s attorney, Glenn Cornell, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The defense had argued during the trial that Chavez had a “pre-existing” heart condition before the operation and may have also been allergic to the anesthetic.

Altig, who also could not be reached for comment, had denied in court papers that he was negligent.

But jurors ruled 10 to 2 that Altig was to blame and awarded Chavez $3.8 million.

Altig appealed the verdict, but agreed to a $3.9-million offer during a mandatory settlement conference ordered by Judge Sheila Prell Sonenshine of the 4th District Court of Appeal.